CAIRO: Voting for the new chairman and 12 board members of the Press Syndicate begins at 9 am today amid trying times for Egyptian journalists. Three veteran journalists will compete for the chairman s seat: state-backed candidate Makram Mohamed Ahmed, former syndicate chief from 1997-1999, and columnist with the Al-Ahram daily; Ragai El-Merghani, managing editor of the official Middle East News Agency (Mena); and Magdy Abdel-Ghani, journalist with Al-Akhbar daily. Nearly 77 journalists will contest the 12 board members seats, mainly from the state-owned press. The balloting and vote-counting process will be administered and supervised by over 40 judges. According to journalist and author Mohamed Al-Baz, this year s elections are different from any other year because of their sensitive timing. Five journalists and chief editors face jail sentences for articles they published in their newspapers. Ibrahim Eissa, editor of Al-Dostour, Wael El-Ibrashi of Sawt Al-Umma, Adel Hammouda of Al-Fagr , Abdel-Halim Qandil, the former editor of Al-Karama, Anwar El-Hawari, chief editor of Al-Wafd newspaper are all undergoing trials for articles they ran discussing rumors about President Hosni Mubarak s health. The Egyptian press is currently challenged with this huge crisis meaning that the press is now in dire need of a strong syndicate to stand against government attempts at coercion, Al-Baz said. Despite that, Al-Baz still believes that voters will support candidates who will promise financial gains, not ones who will offer final solutions to the ongoing crackdown on press freedom. More than 70 percent of journalists are in favor of Makram Mohamed Ahmed who was able to provide LE 200 raises [after negotiations with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif], Al-Baz said. Ahmed s offer indicates that he is more interested in increasing the syndicate s coordination with the government rather than providing independence to journalists and drafting a new law governing access to information, said Al-Baz. He believes that the existence of various ideological blocs does not contradict with to the efficiency of the syndicate. It is not a setback for members to support representatives of their own ideologies, he says, highlighting that the main problem is with having a pro-government board which does not uphold journalists and the press syndicate s rights. Syndicate elections are regulated by the Press Syndicate Law 76/1976 and Law 100/1993 that state the time served by the chairman who should stay for only two years and is able to serve a maximum of two successive terms. The Muslim Brotherhood is expected to control 600 of a total of 5,000 votes and in a closely fought battle their influence could determine the result of the elections, say analysts in the local press. Ahmed and El-Merghani are thought to be the main rivals for the top post. This time the 12-member board is divided more than ever between leftists, members of the ruling National Democratic Party, liberals, and Islamists groups.
