Russian Officials Bar Anti-Corruption Activist from Running for President

 

On Monday, Russian election officials formally barred anti-corruption¹ activist² Alexei Navalny from running for president in the March 18 election.

Over the past year, Navalny has launched a grassroots campaign to challenge the current president, Vladimir Putin. Navalny is the most serious opponent that Putin has ever faced.

Minutes after the Central Election Commission announced its decision, Navalny released a pre-recorded video message. The message called on his supporters to boycott³ the vote.

“The procedure that we’re invited to take part in is not an election,” Navalny said. “Only Putin and the candidates he has hand-picked are taking part in it.”

He added: “Going to the polls right now is to vote for lies and corruption.”

With or without Navalny in the race, Putin has been expected to win a fourth term easily. His approval ratings are more than 80 percent.

Why can’t Navalny run?

Every member of the Central Election Commission decided⁴ together that Navalny is not able to run. The commission officials said they are not permitted to put Navalny on the ballot⁵ because he was found guilty in a fraud case last February.

But the case has been widely seen as a tool to prevent Navalny from running for office. And Navalny could have run if he was given special permission or if the guilty decision was cancelled.

Navalny spoke⁶ with the commission before its vote to bar him. He told them that their decision would be a vote “not against me, but against 16,000 people who have nominated me, against 200,000 volunteers who have been canvassing⁷ for me.”

How could a boycott affect the election?

Navalny’s call for a boycott could harm the Russian government’s hopes for increasing the number of people who actually vote. Even though Putin is likely to win an easy victory, government officials want his performance to be as strong as possible. They have been concerned by growing voter disinterest.

The involvement of 36-year-old TV star Ksenia Sobchak could raise public interest in the race. And she could appeal to some of Navalny’s supporters and help increase the number of people who vote.

Sobchak has denied working with Putin’s government to bar Navalny from running for president. But she criticized Navalny’s call to boycott the vote.

On Monday she said the “election is the only way to change something, and boycotting⁹ them is inefficient¹⁰ and harmful.”

She suggested that Navalny join her campaign if she gets registered for the race.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

formally - adv. done in an official and public way

grassroots - adj. made up of the ordinary people in a society or organization : the people who do not have a lot of money and power

procedure - n. a series of actions that are done in a certain way or order

canvass⁸ - v. to talk to the people in an area in order to get them to support a candidate

inefficient - adj. not capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 canvassing   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He spent the whole month canvassing for votes. 他花了整整一个月四处游说拉选票。
• I'm canvassing for the Conservative Party. 我在为保守党拉选票。 来自辞典例句

8 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

9 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

10 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。