Court in Egypt Bars Ousted Officials From Polls

CAIRO—An Egyptian provincial court barred former members of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's party from running for parliament, circumventing the country's reluctant military leadership.

The ruling marks the latest sign that the Egyptian public is taking matters into its own hands when it comes to boxing out the former regime. The law is certain to spark a outbreak of legal requests from citizens seeking similar rulings in their own districts, as well as appeals by former National Democratic Party members their exclusions from political life.

An administrative court in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura ruled late Thursday that any former member of the NDP, which was dissolved by court order in April, won't be allowed to run for office in parliamentary elections, which begin on Nov. 28.

Activists celebrated the decision as a victory for the revolution and a riposte to an interim leadership they accuse of acting in the interests of the ousted regime.

The interim government said last week it would introduce within days a measure with regard to former NDP members to be known as the "Law on Corrupting Political Life."

The text of that proposed law hasn't been made public. Legal analysts say its title suggests that it would exclude only those politicians who have been convicted of political corruption.

The Mansoura court decision goes further, blocking all card-carrying former NDP members. "The individuals who corrupted the economic, social, political and cultural life of this country are ordinary people who were in charge of running the affairs of this party," the ruling reads.

"The moment I heard the news, I felt that this is a slap across the face of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the government," said Gamal Eid, the founder and director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, a Cairo-based advocacy group. "It's very embarrassing for the SCAF. It confirms the idea that the SCAF's permission for NDP members to run in elections was a totally wrong decision."

The text of the court ruling wasn't specific about its scope. Legal experts disagreed on whether it would apply to former NDP members nationwide or just to Daqhiliya Governorate, of which Mansoura, a city of nearly 450,000 people, is the capital. Daqhiliya has 36 seats in the upcoming 498-seat parliament, according to Egypt's High Elections Commission.

Members of the dissolved party remain popular in some regions of Egypt, particularly in rural areas and sparsely populated desert regions with few political alternatives. Many former NDP members command the allegiance of large families and vast patronage networks.

Abu al Hassan Ramadan Siddiqi, a former NDP parliamentarian who is running for the new legislature, said the court's decision was an "undemocratic" effort to bar prominent politicians to the benefit of their rivals. Mr. Siddiqi is running with the Egyptian Citizens' Party, in which about 15% of the members are considered "regime remnants," according to party leadership.

He also said the ruling would result in instability. "I think [the ruling] is unjust because there are Bedouins in the Sinai Peninsula who were part of the NDP because there was no other option.…I don't think that the elections will pass in peace in these areas. There might be violence."

Write to Matt Bradley at matt.bradley@dowjones.com