Secretary-General of Egypt's Press Syndicate, Hatem Zakaria, announced running for syndicate's presidency in the March election. It comes after the current Head of Press Syndicate, Abdel Mohsen Salama, announced he would not run for a second term. Zakaria previously said he would run for only a member seat in the syndicate's board. The committee supervising the election will start receiving candidacy papers on Sunday until 14 February. The final last of candidates will be announced on 19 February. The syndicate's mid-term election over president and six board members posts will be carried out on 1 March. In an official statement, Zakaria said the syndicate has recently faced one of its most difficult periods, and he decided to run for the syndicate's presidency in the light of recent updates, including Salama's not-running in the election. Moreover, the Press Syndicate's Treasurer, Mohamed Shabana, submitted his candidacy papers for board membership to the committee overseeing the mid-term elections. Other journalists also submitted their candidacy papers. The Head of State Information Service (SIS), Diaa Rashwan, announced last week his intention to run in the upcoming election, and he is expected to announce his electoral programme soon.
