The Egyptian Social Democratic Party announced on Friday that Farid Zahran, formerly the deputy for party relations, had won the party’s internal elections and is now its new chairperson.

Bassem Kamel, the party’s training secretary, takes the post of deputy chairperson as part of Zahran’s electoral list.

The party announced that it would hold internal elections by the end of former chairperson Mohamed Aboul Ghar’s second term. Aboul Ghar, who has been at the head of the party since its establishment in 2011, had announced that he would not run for a third term.

The party saw strong internal conflicts last year, leading to resignations among its leading figures. Members who had left complained of an ideological clash between liberals and leftists within the party. Aboul Ghar submitted his resignation during the crisis last September, but later withdrew it.

Zahran was running against constitutional expert Nour Farahat and former deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa Eddin. The competition between the two electoral lists, which both feature key figures within the party, was heated, and the winning list won by four votes, with 311 votes.

The winning electoral list is considered representative of the leftist faction of the party. Following the announcement of the results, Zahran said that the change of leadership will not change the direction of the party. Farahat accepted the loss, saying, “We bow to the democratic choice,” in a post on his Facebook page. 

The Social Democratic Party holds four seats in Parliament.