Although the struggle over the chairmanship of the Bar Association has ended, the battle between former and current syndicate chairmen continues, Mona El-Nahhas reports Amid much tension, elections for the membership of the Arab Federation of Lawyers were held late last week and ended on Saturday in Morocco. According to the internal statutes regulating the federation, the post of the head of the federation goes automatically to the chairman of Egypt's Bar Association. Accordingly, Hamdi Khalifa, the newly elected chairman of the Bar Association, was named head of the lawyers' federation. As to the six seats of the federation, which represent Egypt's permanent quota, lawyers belonging to the camp of former syndicate chairman Sameh Ashour won them all. Saber Ammar, Sayed Abdel-Ghani, Akef Gad, Yehia El-Touni, Khaled Abu Kresha and Lamyaa Sabri were announced the winners. Not a single seat went to lawyers nominated by Khalifa. Upon taking up his new post, Khalifa called for drafting unified legislation for Arab lawyers to defend their rights. But what came up instead of the usual work fare provided fireworks. During the opening session of the federation's conference, the secretary-general, Ibrahim El-Semlali, offered an apology to Khalifa for not including his name at first among the conference speakers. Since his arrival in Morocco a week before the polls Khalifa was reportedly hampered from doing his job as the new head of the federation. According to Khalifa's narrative, Ashour's supporters had been spreading rumours among leading members of the federation that the results of the last elections of the Bar Association, held late in May, are being currently contested before the courts. As such, Khalifa, they allege, should not be named the federation's head until related lawsuits are settled. In fact, the legitimacy of Khalifa's candidature remained vague until the Egyptian ambassador to Morocco announced the backing of Khalifa as the sole elected chairman of the Bar Association. This was not the only embarrassing event in Morocco. Prior to the polls, it was widely rumoured that Ashour had submitted a request to the federation's secretariat-general, asking to amend the article in the federation's statutes which limits the chairmanship of the federation to Egypt. In the so-called request, Ashour asked that the chairmanship of the federation should rotate among all Arab states via elections. Ashour was also said to have met a number of Arab Bar Association chairmen to propagate his suggestion. A fierce campaign, led by Khalifa and his camp, was reportedly launched against Ashour. Khalifa sent an official complaint against Ashour to the Foreign Ministry, accusing him of attempting to marginalise Egypt's national role. In Morocco, he told the Egyptian ambassador of Ashour's non-stop campaign to press for his demands. In a further development, a group of Khalifa's supporters decided to sue Ashour, demanding that his Egyptian nationality be stripped. On Monday at noon, Ashour held a press conference in his office, strongly denying Khalifa's accusations as "sheer lies. "I did not submit any request of the kind," Ashour told reporters, adding that those who spread such rumours aim at turning the regime against him. "Winning Egypt's six seats at the federation stressed the unconditional trust Arab lawyers have in the national electoral list," Ashour said during the conference. In a statement issued on Monday, the secretariat-general backed Ashour's reply, stressing that none of the federation members had ever presented such a request. Another statement issued by Ashour's men said they were subjected to an unprecedented smear campaign by Khalifa and members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), with the aim of tarnishing their image before the public. Since the May elections of the Bar Association, the relationship between council members supporting Ashour and those backing Khalifa has gone from bad to worse, leading many to predict the new council will be embroiled in endless disputes. Although the two camps pledged to work in harmony and put aside their differences, their promises were not kept for long. The media war between the two did not stop and verbal clashes were reported to have postponed meetings of the new council. Khalifa accused the former council, led by Ashour, of committing flagrant financial violations and vowed to take the necessary legal measures. Ashour claimed that Khalifa's accusations were not valid, and were meant solely to target his reputation. With the current tense atmosphere prevailing and harmony lacking between council members, many doubt the new council will see much progress.
