Thousands gather in Moscow demanding fair elections

Thousands of protesters gathered in the streets of Moscow demanding free and fair elections in the Russian capital.

Protesters are calling for opposition candidates to be allowed to register for the September polls.

Election officials barred around 30 candidates, mostly opposition-leaning, from running for the 45-seat legislature on the grounds they failed to gather the minimum 5,000 signatures needed to be eligible to run.

Opposition leaders including the most prominent, Alexei Navalny, joined supporters at the rally.

The barred candidates say they have secured the required number of signatures, but that they had been excluded because they were challenging the control over the legislature exercised by those loyal to President Vladimir Putin.

Organisers said on Facebook that they were protesting for a Russia "without bandits, fraudsters, swindlers and thieves".

Protesters held placards with the inscriptions “I have the right to choose” and “Putin lies”.

Last week, police arrested dozens of protesters at another rally in defence of independent election candidates.

The protests come amid a drop in approval ratings for Putin and anger over declining living standards and widespread corruption.