Election deadline for Egypt’s journalism union

The Egyptian Journalists’ Union has announced it is no longer accepting candidates for its internal elections, set to be held in March. Reports suggest writer and al-Ahram managing editor Abdel Mohsen Salama, as well as Director of the Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies [ACPSS] Diaa Rashwan have both handed in applications, giving a total number of chairman candidates of five. Other candidates include al-Gomhouria’s Sayed el-Iskandarani and Naeima Rashed, as well as Gareedat al-Shaab’s Mohammed Maghrabi Ahmed. Some 40 members have meanwhile registered candidacies for the union’s board, including Middle East News Agency [MENA] reporter Ahmed Hassan al-Sharkawi, Rose al-Youssef's Khaled el-Balshi and Al Akhbar's Hisham Mubarak. The committee overseeing the election was chosen by an internal lottery. The news comes after incumbent Mamdouh Wali announced on Tuesday he would not be standing for re-election.