DHAKA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Jailed Bangladeshi ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia suffered a fresh blow Wednesday as the country's apex court upheld a ban for convicts from running in the general elections slated for Dec. 30.

A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain upheld Tuesday's High Court order that ruled anyone jailed for more than two years cannot contest elections.

Additional Attorney General Murad Reza told journalists that following the apex court order, no convicts including Zia will be able to contest the upcoming elections.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Bangladesh Awami League party leaders said the release of Zia from jail is a matter of court's decision.

The country's major opposition alliance led by ex-Prime Minister Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has already decided to contest the parliamentary polls next month.

BNP has been demanding the immediate release of all political prisoners including BNP chairwoman Zia, who has been in jail since February in a corruption case.