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Putin sees Medvedev as leader ... Russia's Central Election Commission says there are grounds to disqualify opposition candidate Mikhail Kasyanov from running for president.
The commission says Mr Kasyanov, who is seeking to stand as an independent, has failed to obtain the necessary two million valid signatures.
Mr Kasyanov was prime minister under Mr Putin, but has become one of the Russian leader's staunchest critics.
Mr Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is expected to win in March.
Russian law stipulates than no more than 5% of signatures in support of a candidate can be false or forged.
While the electoral commission has yet to reach a final decision on whether or not Mr Kasyanov can run, they now say that 13.38% of his signatures are invalid.
"The number of certified signatures is less than two million, which is sufficient basis to reject his registration as candidate for the presidency," said commission member Nikolai Konkin.
The latest opinion polls suggest an unassailable lead for Mr Putin's chosen successor Dmitry Medvedev, who is chairman of the gas giant Gazprom. Mr Kasyanov has been polling about 1%.
On Tuesday Russian prosecutors announced they had opened an investigation into allegations that Mr Kasyanov had been involved in forging a significant proportion of the two million signatures needed to qualify.
(BBC)
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