More than 325 members of Alexandria's judges submitted late on Thursday evening a request to the club's president Ismail el-Bassiouni to hold an emergency general assembly to discuss the crisis that the club has lately been going through. Such crisis has been sparked by to the division among the Council's members into el-Bassiouny's front and the so-called "Judges' Independence Trend". The judges are calling on the general assembly to deal with several issues: the club president's notification to the Public Prosecution accusing 7 council members of storming the president's office and destroying its furniture; the annulment of the results of the last elections, as the minutes on the counting of the votes had not been signed; the club's collecting money from the people and giving them receipts with the club's slogan in order to sell units in 13 towers (to be constructed) owned by a member of the board of directors; the use of the club's name and headquarters to hang billboards publicizing private projects; the Board of Directors' decision to dismiss Counselor Adel Sharbash on false charges of missing the board's sessions; the meeting held by the Club's president with the presidents of the provinces' clubs; the foundation of a federation of provinces' presidents with the objective of attacking Egypt's Judges Club and distracting the Board from its main objectives, namely taking care of its members. Finally, the judges are calling on the assembly to discuss a counselor's request to hold a no-confidence vote against the club's board of directors The Club's President, Ismail el-Bassiouy, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that some members had actually submitted, on Thursday evening, a request to hold an emergency general assembly, adding they had then taken it away one more time to make some copies of it. He then said he ignored whether they had submitted it one more time to the club's secretary, especially as yesterday was Friday. Informed sources affirmed that the current board of directors, chaired by el-Bassiouny, would thwart any attempt or efforts to hold a general assembly, especially as a formal request has been submitted to hold a no-confidence vote against the board of directors due to the recent events recently witnessed by the club and caused by its members' division. According to the Court Chief of Justice Mohamed Aoud, such division is preventing the club from providing services to the judges. The sources pointed out that the current conditions are not favorable, especially as the club's elections are looming on the horizon and the atmosphere will be very heated in the near future. For their part, the judges belonging to the "Independence Trend" are saying they will try to hold the general assembly under any circumstance, as at least 200 members' signatures are required.
