The Journalists Syndicate opens the door for candidacy for mid-term elections on 14 February for five days, with the elections slated for 6 March to choose a new chair and six new board members.
Coinciding with the declaration, Alaa Thabet, the syndicate’s undersecretary, said the syndicate’s board decided to raise journalists’ pensions from LE900 to LE1,000.
The syndicate had earlier increased the “training and technology allowance” disbursed to journalists on a monthly basis from LE1,200 to LE1,380.
The current board, elected in March 2013, received much criticism from many journalists over what they call its failure to defend the profession’s freedom.
Around eleven journalists were killed since the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak, and Egypt has been listed among the world’s biggest jailers of journalists last year by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In statements three days ago, Rashwan made a stir by urging journalists to report colleagues who make reports deemed incitive against security and military authorities. He had earlier caused a controversy by stating that the law stipulates jail for reporters who practice the profession while not being syndicate members.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
