Kasyanov "should be barred from election"

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition challenger Mikhail Kasyanov should be disqualified from a March 2 presidential vote because of forged registration documents, the secretary of the Central Election Commission said on Thursday.

"For this reason Kasyanov should be excluded from participation as a candidate in the presidential election," Nikolai Konkin told reporters. He said the Commission would make a final decision on January 27.

(Reporting by Chris Baldwin; writing by Christian Lowe; editing by Dmitry Solovyov)