In a significant political development, Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) on Sunday officially barred Kremlin’s fierce critic and ex-Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov from contesting the presidential poll scheduled for March 2. After scrutinizing the signatures of voters in support of Kasyanov’s candidacy for the election, the CEC said 13.38 per cent of them were forged.

Under the Russian law, a presidential candidate has to collect at least 2 million signatures in his support. No more than 5 per cent of signatures in support of a candidate can be false or forged.

Reacting to the CEC’s rejection of his nomination papers, Kasyanov said the move was politically motivated and the Kremlin leadership will bear responsibility for the consequences of this decision. “Undoubtedly, the decision not to register my candidacy, as well as all important political decisions emerging in the ‘vertical’ system, were made personally by President Vladimir Putin,” he said in a statement, adding, “Authorities will bear the entire responsibility for this. The hopes that the political process will develop within the constitutional field have not been justified. Those who think we are losers are wrong. In spite of all circumstances, we have won because we have held our honour and dignity, and we have done all we could in the current situation. Those who think our campaign is over are mistaken. Our campaign is just beginning.”

Meanwhile, several human rights groups slammed the decision by the CEC, saying the denial of registration as a presidential candidate to Kasyanov will make the election campaign less democratic. “The democratically-minded citizens have lost their presidential candidate,” leader of the movement For Human Rights Lev Ponomaryov told Interfax news agency.

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