Steel tycoon Ezz disqualified from elections, wife will run

Steel tycoon, National Democratic Party figure and one-time member of parliament Ahmed Ezz has been disqualified from the upcoming parliamentary vote by the Elections Commission in Monufiya.

Wael Omran, who heads the commission, stated that Ezz lacked necessary documents, including those related to financial disclosures for his second wife, Shahinaz al-Naggar.

Ironically, Naggar is also running for parliament and, according to privately owned newspaper Youm7, her papers were accepted by South Cairo Court on Sunday.

Naggar, known as the youngest parliament member in 2005, soon married fellow MP Ezz and then resigned from her position in parliament.

According to privately owned newspaper Al-Shorouk, the fact that Egyptian banks have imposed a freeze on Ezz’s financial assets is another reason for the disqualification.

According to Omran, as a candidate Ezz must open a personal account for his campaign in one of two specific banks set by the commission. One of those banks previously froze Ezz's assets.

Mohamed Hamouda, Ezz's lawyer, stated that they plan to challenge the decision. Legally, potential candidates are allowed to appeal disqualification, and a legal committee finalizes the decision two days following the challenge is raised.

Ezz, who is running for the constituency of Monuf, was jailed for three years on charges of corruption, embezzlement and monopolizing Egypt’s steel market. He was then released last August.

In a short telephone interview with host Amr Adeeb, Ezz stated that he supports the current regime — describing its role in 2013 as “historical.” The former MP stated that his candidacy for the parliamentary elections has nothing to do with the current regime, adding that he did not call anyone and no one called him.