A committee in the Press Syndicate started on Saturday receiving nomination requests for the syndicate’s board elections. The first round will take place in March, state media reported.
The upcoming syndicate board members will be elected by the journalists registered with the syndicate. The committee dedicated to following the elections will receive last nomination requests on 15 February at noon.
A number of journalists expressed their intention to run for the head of the syndicate. Former head of the Press Syndicate Diaa Rashwan also announced last week that he will run for the same position.
Al-Ahram newspaper’s managing editor, Abel Mohsen Salama, will host a press conference on Saturday to discuss his stance regarding the nomination for the head of the syndicate. Fellow journalists will attend the conference.
The syndicate suffered unprecedented assaults in 2016, which culminated in a police raid on the syndicate and the trial of current president Yehia Qalash and two deputies, Khaled Al-Balshy and Gamal Abdel Rahim.
The three leaders received two-year prison sentences in November for charges of harbouring wanted suspects—two journalists, Badr and Mahmoud Al-Saqa. However, three leaders brought the case to the appeals court that is currently looking into it.
