MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti) - The Central Election Commission is not ruling out that Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former chief executive of embattled oil giant Yukos, may run for parliament in a by-election, a commission official said Wednesday.

"Under the law, he [Khodorkovsky] has this right. Time will show if he is registered [on time]," Deputy Chairman of the commission Oleg Vilyashev told reporters on Wednesday, commenting on press reports that some right-wing politicians had advised Khodorkovsky, 42, to run for a seat in the lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, in a Moscow by-election.

Vilyashev said the exception to this legal right were cases when a candidate had been declared legally incapable or was in prison after being convicted by a court of law.

Although Khodorkovsky was sentenced to nine years in prison in May after he was convicted on embezzlement and other charges, his appeal has yet to be heard, which under Russian law means the sentence has not yet technically come into force.

Vilyashev said the ex-Yukos head would have to meet a series of requirements on time to be registered. He would have to submit all the necessary documents, including information about his assets and income.