CAIRO: Ahram journalist Mamdouh El-Walli was voted head of the Journalists' Syndicate, beating Yehia Kallash by 247 votes, the committee supervising the elections said on Thursday. El-Walli has repeatedly refused to be labeled as the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, refuting claims that he's a member of the once-banned group. El-Walli, deputy editor-in-chief of state run Al-Ahram newspaper, was the treasurer of the syndicate for the two sessions of 1999 and 2003 and the rapporteur of the Economic Committee. Kallash, who works for state-run daily Al-Gomhuria, got 1,399 votes, as opposed to 1,646 garnered by El-Walli. The elections are believed to be the first without government interference. One of the main arguments preceding the vote centered on the candidate's political affiliations. Journalist Abeer El-Saady, who won a seat on the board in Wednesday's elections, had expressed hope that voters can differentiate between those who are more loyal to political affiliations than to the syndicate. "Everyone has a political affiliation but they should be checked at the door," Mohamed Abdel Qouddos said. Known for leading the freedoms committee of the syndicate, Abdel Qouddos also won a seat on the board. Others, including voters, winners and losers, argued that that syndicate cannot be separated from the political scene. Gamal Fahmy, who won a seat, Qotb Al-Araby, who lost in the elections, and presidential hopeful Hamdeen El-Sabahy, who voted in his capacity a journalist, supported the argument. This week's elections marked a loss for Brotherhood candidates, with only Abdel Qouddos making it to the board. Journalists often refuse to classify the veteran syndicate member as merely a Brotherhood candidate. More than 100 journalists competed over 12 seats. At least five of the candidates were affiliated with the group, known for it active role in syndicates. Half of the elected candidates were members of the last syndicate board: Abdel Qouddos, El-Saady, Fahmy, Gamal Abdel Rehim, Hany Emara and Hatem Zakaria. The new six members are Osama Dawood, Hesham Younis, Ibrahim Abou Kela, Alaa Al-Attar, Karem Mahmoud and Khaled Meiry. A high turnout was expected at Wednesday's general assembly that voted on the board members. However, 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. The delay on Wednesday wasn't the first to face the elections. Candidate Khaled Al-Atfy had earlier won a court ruling to halt elections previously scheduled for Oct. 14. He based his case on the fact that Salah Abdel Maqsoud, then-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.
