Ashraf Abdel Ghaffour was elected as the new head of the actors syndicate yesterday 18 June with 846 votes, against the contenders, Ashraf Zaky, the former head of the syndicate and Ahmed Maher.

Many members in the syndicate, along with members of the film industry syndicate, had gone on a march a week earlier to demonstrate Ashraf Zaky participating in the elections because he is part of the old regime. Zaky won 333 votes, while Maher came out of the elections with 98 votes.

A board of directors of 12 members was also elected, most of which are youth.

Ashraf Abdel Ghaffour has acted in the theatre and cinema and is most famous for his roles in historical dramas.

On 10 July the film industry syndicate elections expects to see film director Aly Badrakhan running against Mohamed Fadel, alongside two unpopular candidates from the old regime, former syndicate head Mosaad Fouda and Mamdouh El-Leithy, head of the alliance of art syndicates.