And Independent leftist Khaled El-Balshy becomes the head of Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate

It was an unusual and surprising turn of events when an independent opposition journalist, Khaled El-Balshy, was elected as the head of Egypt's Journalists Syndicate in free elections.

Khaled El-Balshy at the syndicate on Friday "Abdullah Ewies" 

This unexpected outcome made history, as El-Balshy won against his main rival Khaled Meiri, the editor-in-chief of the state-owned daily Al-Akhbar.

Typically, the head of the syndicate comes from a state-owned press institution, but in this case, the Egyptian journalists made history by electing an independent journalist as their leader.

Despite the huge campaign Meiri had in the past two weeks, he lost to El-Balshy.

El-Balshy is the editor-in-chief of the leftist online news website "Darb," which is currently blocked in Egypt. He is a true leftist known for his outspoken views on the left of authority.

It is worth noting that the Journalists Syndicate's elections are supervised by an independent judicial committee.

El-Balshy is not only a veteran leftist journalist but also a veteran unionist in the syndicate. He headed the freedoms committee a couple of years ago. 

Many journalists believe that he will be needed in the upcoming years.

The board's elections have not finished yet, and the rest of the results will be known tomorrow morning. "Updated: Three out of the four "independent journalists of the so-called opposition faction in the syndicate won seats in the board" 

The three journalists are board veterans Mahmoud Kamel, Hisham Younes and newcomer Mohamed El-Garhy. 

So good night, good luck and believe in miracles because sometimes they do happen.

On the famous staircase of Egypt's journalists' syndicate