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-Sissi was re-elected for a second term, getting 97% of the vote in a virtually one-sided contest.
