CAIRO: The judicial committee supervising the Lawyers' Syndicate elections received Tuesday 10 applications for the chairman position along with 78 applications for other seats. The applicants represent a wide array of ideologies and affiliations, including the National Democtratic Party (NDP), the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), Copts and independents. Candidates are distancing themselves from each others' affiliations, whether publicly or through indirect references. The Muslim Brotherhood received most of the criticism. Incumbent Syndicate head Sameh Ashour, who is running for a third term, said his electoral list includes representatives of all political streams, except for the Brotherhood. He wants the Syndicate to be for all lawyers and not a party for the Brotherhood, the official Middle East News Agency quoted him as saying. His plan includes increasing lawyers' pension, health care expenditures, and increasing job opportunities for lawyers. Saeed El Far who is responsible for the lawyers' affairs in the NDP, shared Ashour's criticism of the Brotherhood. El Far said that the ruling party's lawyers are the best candidates to solve their colleagues' problems. He criticized the MB, rejecting any alliance with them, adding that they are only after their personal interests and that they have been looking to gain control over the syndicate since 1992. MB lawyer, Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud dispelled rumors that the MB will not be represented in the elections. He said that the group's electoral list will include independents, leftists and a number of Copts to ensure the inclusion of all political directions and faiths in what he described as "a union for all Egyptian lawyers in the event of their victory in the elections. The list is headed by Ahmed Seif El Islam and will be released next Saturday. He added that the list is complete and hopes the efforts exerted for this election benefit the union and its lawyers. For the first time since 1952 Coptic lawyer Mamdouh Ramzi is competing for the chairman post in the Syndicate. "My goal is to establish citizenship and national unity, Ramzi told Al-Masry Al-Youm, who stressed that he is not participating in the elections as a representative for Copts. Talaat El-Sadaat who is also competing for the position of chairman told Daily News Egypt, "The main reason I am running in the elections is to return to the Egyptian lawyers their dignity that was lost in the midst of political conflict between members of the syndicate council; they are all after personal gain and they pay no attention to the public interest. El-Sadat explained that the increasing police crackdown on lawyers is proof that lawyers cannot rely on the syndicate to protect them and their families or ensure their futures. One of his goals, he explained, will be to establish a bank from which lawyers can take a daily loan of LE 50 without interest. He also plans on building three hospitals for lawyers in Cairo, Alexandria and Sohag. His prospects also include private residential blocks for lawyers in the new cities as well as launching a new satellite channel that would broadcast important cases. "Its first priority would be to teach the new lawyers as well as the public so they are informed about what to do in their cases, he said. El-Sadaat also plans on raising the salaries and pensions. "I assure you that one year from now I am going to call for new elections, because my only motive is to return to the syndicate its dignity. Another hopeful candidate is Ragaey Atteya, also running for chairman. He told Daily News Egypt that his campaign has two main objectives, "reforming the syndicate and restoring the good old values of the profession while pumping new blood into it. He said that these goals can be achieved by improving the working environment for lawyers by providing them with better protection. He also recommends enhancing the syndicate's role with regards to training and education. Atteya believes that monitoring and reforming all the law schools is essential as well as reinstating the syndicate's publications that would bolster lawyers' knowledge. He also added that other objectives such as "improving the syndicate's resources and upgrading its services such as healthcare and community clubs are also a priority. Atteya criticized the electoral committee for failing to have judicial observers, which he believes would hinder the process' transparency and lower public trust with regard to the electoral process as a whole. This is in addition to leaving the candidates with no option but to campaign during of Ramadan and through El Eid vacations. Concerning the lack of names on his electoral list, he said "that was primarily due to the lack of time to organize and find reputed names to join the campaign and be a good representation of all ages and experiences. He noted that a prominent Coptic lawyer from El Menia called Adel Ramzi who also happens to be a college friend of his, joined his electoral list in order to serve as an image of Egyptian interfaith collaboration. Atteya is optimistic about having a better election process this year as people should vote according to the best choice rather than on political and party lines, hopping that voters will consider what is better for the union and hence the public. He warned however that if conflicts between factions within the union manifested -in addition to lower quality of lawyers' professionalism - this would undermine all government and public functions and the country's future. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, a lawyer and a member in the Lawyers' Syndicate's Freedom Committee agreed with Atteya. "There shouldn't be any political affiliations to a certain party surrounding the elections as the syndicate contains lawyers who belong to different political streams, he said, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. "If there should be a political stream it has to be a democratic one.
