FILE - Headquarters of Journalists Syndicate in Cairo’s downtownFILE - Journalists Syndicate Secretary General Hatem ZakariaCAIRO - 12 January 2018: Midterm elections of the Journalists Syndicate will take place in March as the chairperson position will be contested in addition to half of the board seats currently kept by members whose four-year term is ending.According to Article 37 of law no. 76/1970 on Journalists Syndicate establishment, the main requirements to stand for elections include:The board consists of the chairperson and 12 members. Thus, that article of the law has not been put into effect when holding elections, and there are calls to annul it.Journalists Syndicate Secretary General Hatem Zakaria stated that the elections may include the whole board seats as well. That has stirred debate as such measure is not supported by law.A number of legal experts said that such decision will be valid, if the other six board members agree to resign. That is because some are appealing the syndicate’s law on midterm elections and calling for a general election.The current chairman is Abdel Mohsen Salama who was elected in 2017.

Source: Egypt Today January 12, 2019 10:41 UTC