6 board members announced victors in Egypt’s Press Syndicate election

The judicial committee overseeing Egypt’s Press Syndicate elections announced early Saturday the six elected board members with the highest votes, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.

The winners are Gamal Abdel-Rehim with 1,182 votes, Hussein Al-Zanaty with 1,165 votes, Mohamed Kharaga with 1,152 votes, Mohamed Abdel-Hafeez with 831 votes, Amr Badr with 778 votes, and Ayman Abdel-Maguid with 763 votes.

Around 70 journalists ran for the syndicate’s high board positions.

The elections took place early Friday for the positions of syndicate head as well as the board members.

Al-Ahram newspaper's managing editor Abdel-Mohsen Salama was elected as head of the syndicate with 2,457 votes, while his competitor Yehia Kalash, now-former head of the syndicate, received 1,890 votes.

In late 2016, Kalash and board members Khaled El-Balshy and Gamal Abdel-Rehim were given two-year suspended prison sentences on charges of “harbouring fugitives inside the syndicate's headquarters.”

The sentences came after two journalists wanted on charges of “spreading false news” regarding Egypt’s Red Sea island deal with Saudi Arabia were arrested in May inside the syndicate’s Cairo headquarters.

Kalash and the two board members were released on bail of EGP10,000 each and filed appeals. A ruling on their appeals is due 25 March.

Source: Ahram online