A Tunisan paper's poll to decide on the best Arab singer has sparked a spat between singers Hani Shaker and Ehab Tawfiq.
The reason for the crisis was a misunderstanding caused by a letter from the organizing committee forwarded to both artists, according to Akhbar Annujoom magazine.
Upon receiving the letter, Shaker thought that he was the winner, and insisted on his claim, while the committee organizing the ceremony announced that Tawfiq was the winner.
This has led to a bitter row between the two singers before the awards ceremony.
Shaker received a letter telling him that a poll conducted among 50 journalists by telephone, as well as readers’ letters, revealed that he had scored 305 points among journalists, 2,105 points among DJs and 2,450 points among readers.
The letter also says that Tawfiq scored 87 points among journalists, 2,080 among DJs and 2,958 points among the magazine readers.
Shaker believed that he was the winner due to his higher score among the journalists, but the organizing committee confirmed that the final total of votes for Tawfiq amounted to 5,125 while Shaker's total was 4,860, leaving Tawfiq the winner.
In an attempt to contain the crisis created by Shaker’s assistants in Tunisia, who did not accept the final results, Tawfiq was declared best Arab singer while Shaker was declared the critics’ award winner -- Albawaba.com
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