The results of January's Judges Club elections will be interpreted as a vote on the pros and cons of judicial reform, writes Mona El-Nahhas The elections now scheduled for January, during which a new chairman and 14-member board of Cairo Judges Club will be chosen, are likely to be tense and closely fought. The vote was initially due this month but was delayed by the current administration to allow time for outstanding lawsuits filed against the club to be settled. The exact date of the new poll has not yet been fixed. The club administration currently faces a lawsuit filed by several members objecting to the increase in monthly membership fees to LE20. The increase, they argue, was recommended by the 2006 general assembly which, with just 200 members in attendance, lacked a quorum. Hisham Geneina, secretary-general of the Cairo Judges Club, defends the increase. "It was the decision of a general assembly, held in a correct manner. The aim was to help the club offer services to its members against the background of growing financial problems." To raise the issue of monthly fees now, Geneina told Al-Ahram Weekly, is simply an attempt to distract from the bigger issues of the club. "Everyone knows who has brought the case and who stands behind them," says Geneina, who has announced his intention to run for the chairmanship of the club. Current chairman Zakaria Abdel-Aziz has accused state officials of manipulating some judges to undermine the club and prevent it from pressing for greater judicial independence. Abdel-Aziz, who has chaired the club for two successive terms since 2002, said he would not be standing in the coming elections. The Judges Club has been in the forefront of calls for judicial reforms since 2005, earning the enmity of the government. Financial subsidies allocated to the club were suspended by a decree passed by Justice Minister Mamdouh Marei. The club has faced repeated accusations from anti-reform judges that it allows Islamists to run its affairs. "It has turned into a place for attacking the regime and provoking official hostility towards judges," Judge Rifaat El-Sayed, chairman of Assiut Judges Club, recently claimed during a TV satellite channel programme. El-Sayed has been loud in his opposition of the club hosting Kifaya, the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups. The current club administration, he admonishes, has tarnished the image of the judiciary by joining hands with the public in organising street protests. "We are not in a state of confrontation with the regime. We have done nothing beyond call for an independent judiciary," says Geneina in response to El-Sayed's allegations. So far, candidates seeking the chairman's post include Mohamed Mansi from Desouq, Ahmed El-Zein from Tanta and El-Sayed alongside Geneina. While denying any connection with governmental circles, Mansi, El-Zein and El-Sayed all insist that the role of the club be limited to offering social services to members. Geneina's rivals are expected to promise improved financial conditions in return for which judges will be asked, implicitly at least, to abandon calls for reform. "Judges will not be deceived by such false promises," insists Geneina. He denies the existence of any splits among judges on the issue of reform. "Those who are trying to stir the situation are restricted to four or five chairmen of branch whose views do not reflect those of their own members." That said, the results of the elections, in which all 20 branch clubs will vote, will be widely interpreted as a test of the strength of support for reform. In January 2008, when elections were held at the Alexandria Judges Club, the results suggested a waning of support for reformists as Mahmoud El-Khodeiri, a leader of the campaign for greater judicial independence, was ousted as chairman, a position he held since 2004. Ismail El-Basiouni, chief justice of the Qena Court of Appeals and widely rumoured to enjoy the support of the justice minister, was elected in his place. El-Basiouni's supporters also managed to win seven seats on the council, the same number as El-Khodeiri's camp. Since the election, Alexandria Judges Club has been embroiled in internal disputes. Last week, El-Basiouni filed a complaint before the prosecution against some club board members, accusing them of breaking into his office in his absence and damaging its contents. Geneina does not believe a similar scenario will take place at the Cairo Judges Club. "Alexandria Judges Club is a branch club," he argues, "and cannot be compared to the mother club which still enjoys wide credibility among judges."
