Ahmed Ezz election ban upheld by Egypt court

Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday upheld a decision to disqualify steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz from running in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held in October and November this year, according to local media.

The court decision is final and not subject to appeal.

According to political sources, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi opposed Ezz's candidacy - reportedly in fear figures from the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak would return to parliament in full power.

In February, the High Elections Committee disqualified Ezz, a former senior member of Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP), from running in the elections. The Committee's decision was upheld by a Cairo court despite Ezz's appeal.

The Supreme Administrative Court noted that Ezz did not provide the financial information necessary to show how he would be financing his campaign. Ezz also reportedly failed to present documents required of all candidates running in the elections.

In August 2015, the Cairo Criminal Court ordered the freezing of Ezz's assets, restricting him from creating new bank accounts and rendering him unable to present the statements required for running in parliamentary elections.

Ezz, who was recently released from jail after facing corruption charges, served as the national organiser of former president Hosni Mubarak's now-dissolved NDP. He was also the NDP spokesperson in parliament between 2005 and 2010.

The decision to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections had drawn criticism from several January 25 revolutionary political figures and parties - as the business tycoon is widely believed to have engineered widespread fraud during the 2010 parliamentary elections, securing an unprecedented majority for his party in the chamber.

Ezz is the chairman of Ezz Steel and has a 55 percent stake in EZDK, the largest steel complex in the Middle East. The company was previously known as the Alexandria National Iron and Steel Company before Ezz, who was then a mid-level steel manufacturer, was called in to bail out the struggling publicly owned company in 1999.

Ezz enjoyed a close relationship with Gamal Mubarak, the former president's son, who was reportedly being prepared to succeed his father as president.