The Russian election committee has barred opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running for president in the 2018 presidential elections, Al Jazeera reports.
In a unanimous 12-0 ruling with one person abstaining, the committee cited a conviction for fraud as the reason Navalny could not take part as a presidential candidate.
"We are declaring a strike by voters. We will ask everyone to boycott these elections. We will not recognise the result," Navalny said.