Incumbent El-Saeid and the majority of his electoral list win CAIRO: Although it was billed as the most competitive elections in the club s history, the Gezira Sporting Club elections surprisingly featured low voter turnout, favoring the incumbent, Ahmed El-Saeid. Club member and former volleyball player, Farida Essmat, attributes the high expectations concerning the competitiveness of the elections to the large number of candidates, especially those running for the top three positions: the chairman of the board, the deputy and the treasurer. A total of 54 candidates ran for the three posts and the seven seats of the club s board. Others have attributed the expectations of fierce competition to a struggle between two factions. The first called for a change in the board that has run the club for the past term, perceiving the elections as an opportunity to inject new blood into the high board. The second was set on stability and called for continuity of what they described as a trustworthy board, giving it the chance to continue its ongoing projects. Yet as a surprise to both, voter turnout was low; out of over 30,000 registered club members eligible to vote, around 7,000 came to the club last Friday. Perplexed by club member apathy, Enas Mazhar, a local sports writer, says that if half the number of members had showed up, the results might have been different, especially since the candidates who lost enjoy a high level of popularity among club members. This, however, doesn t underestimate the winners, she adds. The majority of the winners came from Ahmed El-Saied s electoral list. El-Saeid, who served as the chairman of the board during the last term, won another four-year term last weekend. The winners from his electoral list include the treasurer Gamal Moharam and board members Mohamed El-Sawy, Ehab Leheita, Ibrahim Zaher and Nehal Ahady. All winners came from electoral lists with a no-show from independent candidates. Also competing for the chairman post was Hamada El-Demerdash. He came in second behind El-Saeid and one candidate on his list won a seat: board member Tarek El-Beheiry. From the third and last electoral list, headed by Adel Abdel Baqy, three candidates made it to the board. Islam El-Sanhoury won the vice chairman seat and both Maha Murad and Ahmed Abul Fetouh won board member seats. Ahady, the youngest board member, says that although candidates had their own programs, the winners now all agree on general goals. The board hasn t officially convened yet, pending completion of paperwork, but they agreed on the basics in an informal gathering, she adds. We are one family, says El-Sanhoury, explaining that the candidates programs are all the same. The difference was just in the wording, he adds. The most important step, he continues, is to meet the needs and fulfill the ambitions of club members. Addressing complaints about club management, Ahady says they would change the club manager. The problem, she explains, was not with the board but with the manager. Developing all sports is also on the agenda. Ahady explains that the aim is to shift the dependency on sport teams to be solely on club members. Security, cleanliness and services are also on the agenda. We want to preserve the club s identity, she says. The changes, she explains, will only make the club better. The low turnout of voters, however, was not the only upsetting feature of the elections. A number of defamatory posters made their way into the club, in which candidates tried to undermine their competitors. While such posters and flyers upset the club members, nothing indicates that they had a significant effect on the results.
