CAIRO: Makram Mohamed Ahmed, former Press Syndicate chief from 1997-1999, and columnist with the Al-Ahram daily, won the chairman's seat on Saturday's election, beating his main contender Ragae El Merghani, managing editor of the official Middle East News Agency (Mena). According to Al-Ahram, Ahmed garnered 2,380 votes out of 3,582, with El Merghani snagging less than half this number with 1,076 votes. During a telephone interview with Al-Beit Betak daily talk show on terrestrial TV's Channel 2, Ahmed promised to live up to every "promise he made during his campaign. Ahmed had secured a salary increases of LE 200 to syndicate members after negotiations with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif - a deal that triggered criticism that Ahmed was more concerned with building relationships with the government than guaranteeing independence to journalists. This year's elections came amid heightened tension between journalists and the government in the wake of the sentencing of journalists and chief editors to jail terms for articles they published in their newspapers. Ibrahim Eissa, editor of Al-Dostour, is currently on trial for discussing rumors about President Hosni Mubarak's health. Adel Hammouda, editor of El Fagr who recently received a one-year jail sentence, told Daily News Egypt that he will be watching and waiting to see if Ahmed will deliver his promises. "Ahmed said that he will give the government two months to eliminate all prison sentences for press offenses and that if the government does not do anything, he will hold a general meeting with the syndicate board and implement any decisions it dictates, Hammouda said. Seventy-seven candidates also contested the 12 seats of the Syndicate's board. According to Hammouda, the exact results of the board elections are not out yet, but "over all, it is obvious that the coming council will include members who focus more on internal syndicate issues than on political problems and journalists' conflicts with the government. Contrary to expectations, the Muslim Brotherhood group was absent from the elections along with many other political groups, Hammouda added. Ahmed and El-Merghani had appeared on election day greeting and hugging one another. There are round 4,885 journalists who are members of the Press Syndicate and are eligible to vote. Syndicate elections are regulated by Press Syndicate Law 76/1976 and Law 100/1993 that limit the time served by the chairman to two years and permit a maximum of two successive terms.
