March 14-backed lawyers win Tripoli Bar Association vote
Candidates backed by the March 14 coalition were victorious in Sunday’s elections at the Tripoli Bar Association, after being postponed last week for security reasons. The bar’s elections to replace two of its council members were held on Sunday and led to the appointment of lawyers Samir Hassan and Joseph Abdo, both supported by March 14. Hassan received 404 votes out of the 761 that were cast, while Abdo picked up 434.
The opposing list, supported by opposition groups, was made up of lawyers Fadi Estephan, who received 298 votes, and Tony Khoury, who received 107 votes. Independent candidates Toufiq Basbous received 294 votes while 18 blank ballots were counted and six votes were canceled.
The race for the two seats saw intensive campaigning by both sides, along with the current and former heads of the association, as well as leading law firms. Observers said that a number of association members were put off by the heavy-duty campaigning, complaining that the elections had become a national political battle rather than a vote for the best representatives of the profession.
The original vote was scheduled to take place a week earlier, but was postponed after a skirmish between members of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and members of the bar on the day of the elections.