A crowd gathers at the Order of Physicians' elections in Beirut. (Credit: Lyana Alameddine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — Joseph Bakhache was elected president of the Order of Physicians in Beirut on Sunday evening, following a ballot marked by low turnout.
Here’s what we know:
• Bakhache, a plastic surgeon at the American University of Beirut, was supported by the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. He defeated George Haber, an opposition candidate who is part of Nakaba Tantafid MD.
• Of the approximately 16,000 doctors registered in Lebanon, 9,300 are paid up members of the orders and therefore have the right to vote in the orders’ elections. However, because 3,000 doctors are currently outside Lebanon, the electorate is around 6,300 voters.
• The elections for the physicians’ orders of Beirut and Tripoli were held Sunday. In Tripoli, Mohammad Safi was elected president after winning 216 votes against 210 for his competitor Wassim Darwiche, who was supported by opposition groups. Safi was backed by the Future Movement and the Azm Movement of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
• The physicians’ orders’ elections took place in two phases on Sunday: the first for the election of council members, the second for the orders’ presidents. In addition to the 16 candidates for the council of the order, each list includes a maximum of 10 additional candidates for the administrative positions of the organization (disciplinary council, pensions, mutual insurance, insurance, etc.).