Russian Supreme Court considers Putin lawful presidential candidate

MOSCOW - The Russian Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit filed by presidential contender Ksenia Sobchak to strip Vladimir Putin of 2018 presidential candidacy.

Sobchak, a TV presenter, filed the lawsuit in mid-February stating that Putin had no legal right to run in the election for the fourth time.

Under the Russian Constitution, a person can occupy the presidential office for two terms in a row only.

Putin served as president for two terms from 2000 to 2008. Then he was succeeded by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev between 2008 and 2012, when the two reversed their posts again.

But Sobchak claimed that in addition to the three previous presidential terms Putin served as head of state after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin from Dec 31, 1999 to May 7, 2000.

Sobchak said that she might appeal the ruling to the Russian Constitutional Court.

Putin is widely expected to win the presidential election slated for Mar 18 by a landslide as he enjoys much higher approval ratings than other candidates.