An Egyptian court has banned officials from the country's former ruling party under ousted President Hosni Mubarak from running in elections.
The ban comes as Egypt prepares for presidential elections later this month. Former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi- who removed Islamist president and Mubarak's successor, Mohammed Morsi- is poised to win that vote.
The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters on Tuesday ruled that leaders of Mubarak's National Democratic Party cannot run in any presidential, parliamentary or local city council elections.
The ruling is binding until a higher tribunal issues a final verdict in the matter.
It closes the door, at least for the time being, to Mubarak party officials returning to the political scene.
The NDP was dissolved just months after Mubarak's ouster in the 2011 popular uprising.