The EU expressed its concern on Tuesday 26 December over potential lack of political pluralism in Russia and the risk that the presidential election of 18 March 2018 may not be fully democratic after opposition politician Alexei Navalny was debarred from standing.
“The Russian Central Electoral Commission’s decision (of 25 December) stating that … Alexei Navalny cannot run in the 2018 national Presidential elections due to an alleged past conviction casts a serious doubt on political pluralism in Russia and the prospect of democratic elections next year”, stated the spokesperson for the European External Action Service in a press release.
“Politically-motivated charges should not be used against political participation”, the spokesperson made clear. She pointed out that the European Court of Human Rights judged that Navalny, who was found guilty in October of embezzlement and declared ineligible to run for elected office until 2028, had been denied the right to a fair trial in his prosecution in 2013 for the same charges.
“We expect the Russian authorities to ensure that there is a level playing field, including in the presidential elections”, the spokesperson added.
She said, too, that the EU expected the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to be invited to observe these elections. “The European Union will base its assessment of the electoral process on their findings, as we have done in the past”, she said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)