The candidates to the 15 seats of the Board of Directors of Egypt's Judges Club kicked off their electoral campaign early both by making phone calls and by preparing the expected battle. These elections are due to be held on February 13. 83 candidates are running for these 15 seats, while the so-called lawsuit war has recently escalating, as the lawsuits lodged against the club have become six. They concern, directly and indirectly, the electoral process. The Chief Justice of Alexandria Court of Appeal, Mohamed Moharram, filed a lawsuit in which he demanded that the decisions of the club chaired by Counselor Zakaria Abdel Aziz be not taken into consideration. In particular, these decisions started the fielding of candidatures, formed the commissions and set the Election Day. In his lawsuit, Mr. Moharram demanded the formation of a general committee by Counselor Mokbel Shaker, Chief Justice of the Court of Cassation, as he is the chairman of the club's general assembly, which in turn supervises the entire electoral process. The Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, Counselor Mohamed el-Mansa Abou Halima, who is running for club president, refused to be labeled the government's candidate. "I'm independent and I reject some people's descriptions of judges as pro-government, reformists or revolutionaries" he said. He affirmed that he would not clash with the regime or the government. "I can't clash with the government and this would be nothing heroic" he said. El-Mansa stressed that he would not let judges express their opinions on public or political issues. "Everyone knows that some members of our club belong to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) or to parties" he affirmed, adding that accepting them into the club has been the biggest mistake the club has ever made. The elections of the social assembly of appeal courts counselors ended yesterday. 11 candidates won a seat in the new council. Counselor Hasan Radwan Hasan, chief judge of Cairo Court of Appeal and Giza Criminal Court and chairman of the general assembly, affirmed there had been an average turnout due to short time and the change of venue. However, he said some 400 counselors had taken part.
