- Community Outreach
- October 29, 2011
- 3 minutes read
Brotherhood Journalists Concede Defeat in Syndicate Elections
The first elections of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate after the Revolution saw Mamdouh Al-Wali, a Muslim Brotherhood ally, winning the chairman’s seat against competition from the left-wing Yehia Qalash after receiving 1646 votes against 1399 for Qalash.
Results of elections for membership seats in the Syndicate Council showed the winners to be: Mohammed Abdul Quddus (1365 votes), Mohammad Karim (1124), Gamal Abdel-Rahim (1008), Alaa Al-Attar (798), Hatem Zakaria (786) and Ibrahim Abu-Kila (663) for ‘over ’15 yrs’ seats.
Meanwhile, the winners: Abir Saadi (1659 votes), Osama Daoud (872), Gamal Fahmy (784), Khaled Miry (733), Hani Amara (681) and Hisham Younis (665) won Council membership seats for ‘under 15 yrs’.
These results meant that the Brotherhood won only one seat: Mohammed Abdul Quddus (1365 votes), who received the highest votes in over-age seats, while Qutb Al-Arabi, Hani Makkawi, Hani Salah Eddin, and Khaled Barakat failed to win any seats.
Commenting on these results, Mr. Ahmed Ezz Eddin, media spokesman for Muslim Brotherhood journalists, said: "We respect the will of the Journalists General Assembly, understand their choices, and accept the results."
In a statement to IkhwanWeb, he said: "Ultimately, the will of the journalists is the winner, and we accept that within the context of the democratic process, which must prevail throughout Egypt, our homeland."
He continued, adding: "We will have to discuss and ponder the reasons for our setback in this election. But as we retreated in journalists elections, we pushed forward in other elections, like the pharmacists and doctors elections. This is democracy: no absolute success; and no absolute loss."
In conclusion, Ezz Eddin stressed that Brotherhood journalists will increase their communication endeavours with all journalists, regardless of the results. He also pointed out that: “Brotherhood journalists endured a massive vilifying campaign that accused the Muslim Brotherhood of seeking to ‘hijack’ the journalists’ union; and although that was not true, there was no doubt we have seen its effect on the final result."