Interior Ministry to secure Ahly Club elections

The Interior Ministry formally notified the board of Ahly Club that it would secure the elections for the new board, as requested by the club's board, state-owned Egynews portal reported on Thursday.

The elections for the presidency of one of Egypt’s biggest clubs are slated to take place on March 27 and 28.

Ibrahim al-Muallem, owner of Al-Shorouk media corporation, who is seen as an extension of the current president, Hassan Hamdy will run against Mahmoud Taher, who has previously been on the board represents the opposing current to the current administration.

Hamdy has been holding meetings with several fronts, from the Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to sports federations, demanding the postponement of the elections until the new sports law is issued.

A bylaw issued by former Sports Minister Taher Abu Zeid, himself previously on the board of Ahly Club, in September prevents Hamdy from running for the club presidency again as it stipulates that board members cannot serve more than two terms.

Abu Zeid resigned from the Cabinet in January after it reversed his decision to disband the board of Ahly Club then led by Hamdy.

As head of the state-owned Al-Ahram advertising agency, Hamdy is an influential figure in government. He maintained this position while he was head of the Ahly Club and there has been speculation of his involvement in financial corruption.

Earlier in March, the Ministry of Interior had declined to secure matches of the African Cup in which Ahly was participating. The Ministry said that it would not be able to secure a packed stadium given the current security situation and refused to let fans into the stadium for the matches. The ministry announced it would not be securing matches next season.