MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI) - Alexei Navalny, who is running for Moscow mayor, will be removed from the list of candidates if he is found guilty as charged in the Kirovles embezzlement case and the verdict comes into force before the elections, a spokesperson of the Moscow City Electoral Commission told RAPSI.

According to the investigators, Navalny organized the theft of over 10,000 cubic meters of timber while serving as a voluntary adviser to the Kirov Region governor.

The timber was allegedly stolen from Kirovles between May and September 2009 in collusion with director of the Vyatka Timber Company Pyotr Ofitserov and Kirovles CEO Vyacheslav Opalyov. The regional budget shortfall resulting from the transaction has been estimated at 16 million rubles ($510,906).

If convicted, Navalny faces up to 10 years in prison. He will also be ineligible for any kind of civil service, even if he only receives probation.

On July 5, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Navalny to six years in a low security penal colony and a fine of 1 million rubles ($30,160). The Leninsky District Court in Kirov will announce its verdict on Navalny and Ofitserov on July 18.

On July 10, Navalny submitted the documents required for registering as a candidate for Moscow mayor. The Electoral Commission is to adopt a decision on his registration within 10 days.

The Moscow mayoral elections have been set for September 8.

"The Electoral Commission will cancel a candidate's registration if he or she loses their passive election right [the right to stand as a candidate in an election], as in the case of Navalny," the commission spokesperson said.

He added that the commission cannot cancel a candidate's registration until the court ruling comes into force. Furthermore, even if Navalny is only sentenced to probation and the ruling comes into effect, the commission will consider invalidating his registration.

"Anyone with a record of a grave crime, or a crime of extremism, and who holds an outstanding conviction as of the voting day cannot run for the elections and will never be able to in the future," the spokesperson said. "As far as I know, the prosecutor has asked for six years for Navalny. A crime punishable by a sentence of over five years is considered a grave crime."