CAIRO - An Egyptian court on Tuesday banned former members of the country's now-defunct ruling party of deposed president Hosni Mubarak from running in any coming elections, state TV reported.

Egypt is preparing to hold presidential poll on May 26 and 27, in which former military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would compete with his leftist solo opponent Hamdeen Sabahi.

Sisi is widely expected to win as he was riding a wave of popularity since his army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last July.

The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters decided that members of Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) were not allowed to run for presidential and parliamentary elections.

The NDP was dissolved and its funds and property were confiscated in April, 2011 after a popular uprising that toppled the long-time ruler Mubarak.

The state TV said that the ruling would not come into effect until a higher court issued a final one.

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