CAIRO: Mortada Mansour has been given the green light by Egyptian State Council to run for presidency in Zamalek s upcoming elections on May 29. A decision banning Mansour from taking part in the elections was issued by the National Sports Council (NSC) on April 30 due to his criminal record. However, Mansour appealed the decision and in Wednesday's hearing he managed to prove that under new regulations, his previous sentence shouldn't prohibit him from running in the elections. The former Zamalek chairman previously served a one-year sentence for insulting head of the State Council. Mansour will be competing for presidency alongside former club presidents Kamal Darwish and Mamdouh Abbas and newcomers Khaled Al-Koshi, Abdel-Tawab Khalaf and Mahmoud Khaled. Upon winning the appeal, Mansour said that the decision to ban him from the elections was no more than another episode by NSC president Hassan Sakr personal attack on him. Winning the appeal proves that Sakr has lost his personal war against me. I think he should resign from his post if he is courageous enough, Mansour said. Now I m positive that I will face no problems winning the presidency. Other candidates will have no chance against me.
