Egypt’s most popular newspaper sacks chief editor over election

Egypt’s most popular newspaper sacks chief editor over election
Al-Masry Al-Youm has sacked its editor over its coverage of last month’s presidential election. (Reuters)
Updated 06 April 2018
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Egypt’s most popular newspaper sacks chief editor over election

Egypt’s most popular newspaper sacks chief editor over election
  • Al-Masry Al-Youm’s chief editor Mohammed El-Sayyed Saleh was dismissed officially on April 4 and this was confirmed on Friday.
  • Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was re-elected for a second term in April 2018.

CAIRO: Egypt’s most popular newspaper has sacked its editor over its coverage of last month’s presidential election, which critics have dubbed undemocratic.
CEO Abdel-Moneim Said of Al-Masry Al-Youm dismissed the paper’s chief editor, Mohammed El-Sayyed Saleh. The dismissal was dated April 4 and confirmed by the paper’s reporters on Friday.
The move followed complains by election authorities which described the paper’s coverage as an “insult.”
The paper ran a piece last month about state-orchestrated efforts to mobilize voters using rewards. After complaints were sent in, the paper ran an apology.
The chief editor was referred for questioning while the state prosecutor opened an investigation into the paper’s election coverage.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was re-elected for a second term, getting 97 percent of the vote in a virtually one-man contest.