Kasyanov was once an ally of Putin

Russia bars Putin critic from vote

Kasyanov was once an ally of Putin, before
becoming a fierce critic [AFP]

Russian election officials have refused to register Mikhail Kasyanov, a former prime minister, and now a critic of the government of Vladimir Putin, the president, for the March presidential poll.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Sunday there were too many invalid signatures in a list of two million that Kasyanov was required to gather from supporters across the country to register.
Under election rules a maximum of five per cent of the signatures can be declared invalid.

According to the CEC, in Kasyanov's case, 13.36 per cent were rejected.

Kasyanov served as prime minister under Putin from 2000-2004 but has since joined forces with the Kremlin leader's fiercest critics, such as Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion.

The March 2 presidential vote is all but sure to be won by Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Putin, currently serving as deputy premier and head of Gazprom, the Russian gas company.
The other candidates are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov and ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, both polling at less than 10 per cent, and little-known politician Andrei Bogdanov. He is forecast to win less than one per cent.