CAIRO: Following delays that threatened postponing the elections, voting for the Journalists' Syndicate board members was underway by Wednesday evening. Wednesday's were the first for the syndicate after the cancellation of Law number 100 that had imposed restrictions on professional syndicates' elections. The cancelation deemed existing boards illegitimate. A high turnout was expected at Wednesday's general assembly that would vote on the board members. By 2 pm deadline the quorum wasn't complete. Half of some 6,000 member — approximately 2,950 — were required to register their attendance for the elections to commence. The supreme commission supervising the elections decided to extend the registration for two extra hours. Some of the voters feared that the extension would be illegal as the elections should have been postponed for two weeks in case of incomplete quorum. However, reports said that those who came late for registration in the last two hours signed a paper that they agree on the extension decision which was later approved in a meeting of the completed general assembly. Yehia Kallash, former board member, was running for the top position, against three rivals; Mamdouh El-Walli, Mohamed Maghraby and Said El-Eskandarany. Kallash, a Nasserist, received the support of a considerable number of general assembly members for his services and stances in the syndicate. El-Walli, who refuses to be labeled as the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, came second in acquiring members' support. The candidates for the board reached 101. Some of the main candidates are Mohamed Abdel Qouddos, Gaber El-Armooty, Gamal Fahmy, and Al-Saady. A number of candidates expressed hope that the voters would elect a board with no affiliations to political groups and parties. "Our colleagues can differentiate between those who are more loyal to their political affiliation than to the syndicate. We don't mind having someone who is involved in the political life, but he should not mix that with his work in the syndicate," said Abeer El-Saady, former board member who's also running in this year's elections. Others disagreed, saying the syndicate can't be separated from the political scene. Qotb Al-Araby, a candidate, said that the syndicate had always represented the various mainstreams. "It is the main syndicate of opinion. Journalism is a diverse and rich profession that cannot be differentiated from political diversity. The main thing is that the syndicate shouldn't be used in partisan purposes," candidate Gamal Fahmy said. Presidential candidate Hamadeen Sabahy agreed, saying that the syndicate cannot be separated from public affairs; however, the political diversity shouldn't be at the expense of the syndicate's interests. As a journalist, Sabahy took part in the syndicate elections. Candidates agreed that the various legislations of the syndicate should be modified. Al-Saady, Al-Araby and Fahmy promised that they will work on the amendments of the law that governed the syndicate since its establishment, especially the legislations that suppress freedom of the press, the election of the editors-in-chief of newspapers, press authority law and the law of membership in the syndicate. The membership law is said to prevent a large number of young journalists from joining the syndicate especially those under training, bloggers and journalists in electronic media. A number of mass communication graduates decided to establish a parallel independent syndicate to eliminate the registration conditions imposed by the official Journalists' Syndicate. The new syndicate is expected to set up an annual registration committee that will accept journalists, regardless of the license of the newspaper they work in, whether Egyptian or not, in addition to TV correspondents and anchors of news programs. To join the independent syndicate, journalists would have to file a portfolio that proves they have been working as journalists for a year and would be required to prove they are still working to renew their membership. "The only response I can give to that is that we have a strong and old syndicate that is renewing itself. We have been calling for the modification of the syndicate's legislations that need to be updated, and this point would be part of the modification," Al-Saady said. In principle, Sabahy explained, anyone has the right to establish a syndicate. "Yet, it is much better if we all gathered around one syndicate. On the other hand, old legislations should be modified." In addition to annually renewed cards provided by the Ministry of Information to foreign journalists, the syndicate membership card is the sole accreditation available to journalists and granting them access to information. Restriction on the membership was often criticized for favoring journalists with state-run media. Al-Araby, on the other hand, believes that the membership law in its current form is objective. "It guarantees the minimum level that should be available in a member of the syndicate," he said. Members said they are looking for a board that can guarantee freedom of the press and the journalists, preserve their dignity, improve their economic and working conditions, develop the syndicate's resources and utilize its funds and assets. "The new board should also stand by the young journalists and help them. It should also allow them to easily join the syndicate," journalist Sa'adon Al-Fashny said. To achieve fairness and transparency, the supervising committee agreed to set up large screens in the headquarters of the syndicate to give the opportunity for members of the general assembly to monitor the voting and ballot counting processes. It also announced that it would allow the authorized human rights and civil society groups to monitor the process throughout the day from outside the electoral committee. The delay on Wednesday wasn't the first to face the elections. Candidate Khaled Al-Atfy had earlier won court ruling to halt elections previously scheduled for Oct. 14. He based his case on the fact that Salah Abdel Maqsoud, acting head of the syndicate, is the one who called for elections instead of the elected head. However, the High Administrative Court canceled the verdict and recommended the continuity of the electoral process.
