The Muslim Brotherhood won a majority in elections held by the Doctors Syndicate, Reem Leila reports Former head of the Doctors Syndicate Hamdi El-Sayed announced on 15 October the victory of Mohamed Khairi Abdel-Dayem as Egypt's future head of the syndicate. In the first elections to be conducted by the syndicate in 20 years, 1,027 candidates were competing, among them 23 running for the head of the syndicate, and 198 contending for posts on the general board. Another 134 candidates were running for head of syndicate branches in addition to 671 contesting sub-boards. The elections which began on 14 October were held in all of Egypt's 27 governorates, with three groups competing: the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) or Doctors for Egypt, Doctors without Rights and Coalition of Youth Doctors. According to El-Sayed, only 15 per cent of registered voters participated in the elections. "This is considered a very poor turnout taking into consideration that these elections are the first in two decades," added El-Sayed. Doctors for Egypt was led by Abdel-Dayem, whereas the prime candidate for Doctors without Rights was Tarek Ghazali Harb, and top nominee for Coalition of Youth Doctors was Ahmed Atef. Atef was kidnapped for five days before the elections and was returned after it ended. The MB won 20 seats in the syndicate's general board, Doctors for Egypt four while three went to the Coalition of Youth Doctors. At the same time Doctors for Egypt won 14 seats in syndicate branches, while 13 seats went to Doctors without Rights. Out of Cairo's 12 syndicate board seats, nine were won by MBs and three went to Doctors without Rights. In Alexandria 10 seats of the syndicate's board went to Doctors without Rights while MBs won only two seats. Mona Mina won the only non- MB seat as well as Noha El-Sharnoubi along with the male-dominated board of Ahmed Nada, Khaled Emara, Mohamed Othman, Gamal Abdel-Salam, Abdel-Fattah Rizk, Islam Nassar, Ahmed Lotfi, Yehia Mekki, Abdel-Rahman Gamal and Abdallah El-Keryoni. The elections saw tough competition between the MBs and Doctors without Rights amid political and religious divergence among competing parties. The Coalition of Youth Doctors gave a poor showing due to the absence of its head Ahmed Atef. The result of the elections disappointed many contenders who believed it was forged. Ahmed Raouf, who was vying for syndicate head, claimed he had documents proving there was forgery in some polling stations in Cairo and Giza. "Ready-marked ballot cards were distributed outside some of the stations. Voters were bribed, and accordingly the results are not valid. I complained to the judge supervising the electoral process but he did not listen," Raouf said. Former head of the syndicate El-Sayed rejected Raouf's charges. "Elections were conducted in a very transparent atmosphere, as it was supervised by more than 40 judges. How then can there be any forgery in the electoral process or at the polling stations?" El-Sayed asked. Judge Mohamed Hisham, head of the general committee monitoring the elections, agreed with El-Sayed but took no chances. "Due to these claims, election results were delayed for hours. The General Committee had to study all complaints submitted to it regarding the forgery reports. But the results of the elections are in no doubt." After the announcement of the results, Abdel-Dayem told a press conference, "the MB support me as they believe that I am qualified for the post. I will work on making the syndicate independent. Neither MB doctors or others will be permitted to practise any political activities on the syndicates' premises." Harb, who was representing Doctors for Egypt, the independent list, stated that MBs always seek to dominate the syndicate to guarantee their control over it. "They always want the syndicate's head to obey them whatever the circumstances. "This was the case with the previous syndicate head El-Sayed. He was concluding a truce with them in order to leave him in his post. Unlike myself, I was not backed up by the party as they all know that no one can impose his will on me. I work for the sake of the profession, the syndicate, no matter the circumstances. "Moreover, I do not have any ideologies to impose on anyone like the MBs." At the end of the elections, doctors who were protesting for better pay have high hopes in the new members and heads of syndicates. They hope the syndicate will pressure the cabinet as well as the government to increase the nation's health budget so that it comprises 15 per cent of the country's general budget instead of the current 3.5 per cent. This is in addition to improving public hospitals and providing security for its staff.
