The High Administrative Court ruled on Tuesday against an appeal submitted by business tycoon Ahmed Ezz, following the Supreme Electoral Commission’s (SEC) decision to reject his candidacy application for parliamentary elections.
A previous appeal had been rejected by the Menufiya Administrative Court last February. The decision noted that Ezz had not submitted the required paperwork, including financial documents.
Every parliamentary candidate or party must have a bank account opened specifically for the elections, which the SEC then supervises to assure that the limits for expenditures on electoral campaigns are followed.
However, Ezz, who was released in August last year after posting bail, as he faced trial in different controversies related to a steel monopoly and illicit gains. The steel tycoon was arrested, along with Mubarak-era officials and businessmen following the revolution of 2011 that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.
As a result, those arrested were banned from travel and their assets were frozen, including those of close family members, such as wives and children. Although some travel bans have been since removed, restrictions on finances remain, which has prevented Ezz from fulfilling SEC requirements.
Ezz sought to run as a candidate representing the constituency of Sadat, located in the governorate of Menufiya, of which he had been a parliamentary representative for years as a member of the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP).
According to a report by state-run media Al-Ahram issued during the parliamentary elections of 2005, Ezz had acquired popularity in the governorate’s main centers, including Menuf and Sadat, due to his work there for over ten years through the Ezz Association for Social Development and his contributions to ‘the area’s infrastructure.’
Al-Ahram also reported that he had been able to “establish 25 schools, as well as launching 17 sewage projects in different villages in Menuf and Sadat, and similar improvements in electricity and telecommunications networks.”
Furthermore, his NDP position as the party’s Secretary-General had greatly expanded his voters’ database.
