CAIRO: The controversial race for Lawyers Syndicate chairman heated up Tuesday with the nomination of Judge Mortada Mansour. Mansour, who filed his application Dec. 2, said his goals are to restore the prestige and dignity of Egyptian lawyers, who have been repeatedly assaulted by police, reported independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. He added that Sameh Ashour, the syndicate's incumbent chairman who is running for another term, has to step down and give someone else a chance. Ashour is a respectable man who served for eight years and he had his pros and cons; but those years were by far the worst period for lawyers, they were continuously humiliated, said Mansour. Controversy has loomed over this year s Lawyers Syndicate elections, which were postponed twice as a result of the professional syndicate s law. The list of candidates running for the chairman s position include incumbent chairman Ashour, controversial MP Talaat El-Sadat, lawyer Ragaey Atteya and Muslim Brotherhood lawyer Montassar El-Zayat. Despite their differences, the candidates are unanimous in their desire for democratic, peaceful elections. These are elections, everyone is free to join, we just hope that they will take place amidst a democratic atmosphere unlike the legislative chaos that happened, said Mohsen Eid, lawyer and spokesperson for El-Sadat. Eid attributes the elections being halted to having two conflicting laws. While Atteya also proclaimed his hopes for democratic elections, he places the blame on Ashour for previously suspending the elections, saying that he did so to maintain an the "occupation of the syndicate.
