CAIRO, Oct 2 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court rejected 186 appeals aiming to disqualify candidates from contesting the coming elections for the House of Representatives.  

The court will hold a hearing session for six appeals tomorrow, and has referred 44 appeals to specialised circuits also to be reviewed tomorrow, Oct. 3. 

These include an appeal by Mubarak-era politician and steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz who is challenging the Supreme Elections Committee's decision to reject his candidacy applications. This was the second time Ezz is excluded from the initial list. He was rejected last February before the elections were postponed on a court order.

Ezz was tried in several corruption cases following the January 2011 uprising. He was handed prison sentences which were all overturned by Egypt’s Court of Cassation.

Campaigning for phase one of the elections started on Tuesday, to end on October 16, one day before polling takes place on October 17-18 overseas and on October 18-19 inside Egypt. The second phase will run from November 22-23. 

The first phase will include 14 provinces; Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assuit, New Valley, Sohag, Qenna, Luxor, Aswan, Red Sea, Alexandria, Behiera and Matrouh.

Egypt's last Islamist-dominated parliament, the first to be seated after the January uprising, was dissolved in June 2012, when the Supreme Constitutional Court annuled the law on which the election was based.