Counselor Ahmed al-Zand has become chairman of the Judges Club after getting 2,421 votes against 2,037 votes for his rival Counselor Hisham Geneina. Ten from al-Zand's list and four from Geneina's list won the seats allocated for the board members, the committee supervising the Judges Club's elections said. These results are seen by the observers as the end of the Independence Trend that has controlled the club during the last period and as the rising of the government trend led by al-Zand. In the first reaction on the part of the Independence Trend, Deputy Chief Justice of the Court of Cassation Mahmoud al-Khudiri said the result shocked the people, especially as they had a hope that judges would achieve political reforms. "The trend will suffer after it has lost the strength it was taking from the club" he said.
The trend will continue working during the coming period even if it were from outside the club, he added.
Deputy Chief of Justice of the Court of Cassation Counselor Mahmoud Mekki said: "We will never feel despair and we will go on." The government list won the elections because most judges preferred material interests, as the government promised to increase their salaries and give them duty-free cars. They preferred these interests to their old dreams of achieving the judiciary's independence and conveying their message to express judges' rights and citizens' interests.
Former chairman of the Judges Club, Chancellor Zakaria Abdel Aziz, thanked the former ministers of justice for their contribution to supporting the club.
In response to reports that the club has not witnessed any developments during the last seven years, Abdel Aziz reviewed the projects carried out and the services offered by the club, adding that the club has faced a series of restrictions started by the administrative and financial siege.
On the other hand, al-Zand's bloc expressed joy at what they called "the return of the club" after 7 years of abduction, referring to the period under the chairmanship of Abdel Aziz and his supporters. Al-Zand's supporters sang and used fireworks to express their joy. Geneina congratulated al-Zand.
