Mamdouh Abbas has become Zamalek's new chairman after comfortably beating off competition from Mortada Mansour in Friday's elections. The wealthy businessman beat controversial lawyer Mansour, who was seen as his main challenger, 10755-8758 in a ballot of Zamalek's general assembly. Kamal Darwish, under whom the Cairo giants enjoyed four fruitful years in the early 2000s, finished third with just 4474 votes. Abbas takes office for the second time, having occupied the prestigious seat between 2006 and 2008. "It's the beginning of a new era," he commented on his win to Al-Hayat TV. "The results show that Zamalek are edging towards stability. We will have four years to fulfill the fans' aims and expectations." Abbas will be further boosted by the success of most of the board candidates who supported him. Zamalek legend Hazem Emam and prominent club figures Ahmed Galal, Hani Al-Attal and Raouf Gasser will work with Abbas as board members. Former defender Ibrahim Youssef and Sabri Serag have also acquired the board membership. Zamalek have been suffering from administrative instability that affected their run in local and continental competitions. The 11-time league champions won one title during the past five years - the Egyptian Cup in 2008. The election was considered the anticipated solution to Zamalek's long-lasting problems, prompting the National Sports Council (NSC) to give the club the green light to hold it earlier than initially scheduled. Read also: Abbas money too good for Mansour enthusiasm
