Marwan Daher, president of the Tripoli Bar Association, during the elections of the Bar Council of the capital of North Lebanon, on November 9, 2025. (Credit: Photo received by our correspondent in the region, Michel Hallak.)
NORTH LEBANON — Lawyer Marwan Daher, backed by the Future Movement, the Marada Movement, MP Faysal Karameh, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party, and the Lebanese Forces, was elected head of the Tripoli Bar Association on Sunday for a two-year term, securing 874 votes against 515 for his rival Chawki Sassine, reported our regional correspondent.
An observer told L'Orient Today that this election marked the first time the Lebanese Forces and Faysal Karameh’s party had formed an alliance in a contest for the professional body.
Sassine, by contrast, was supported by several former bar presidents — including Rachid Derbas, Samir Jisr and Georges Mourani — as well as a group of lawyers close to MPs Ashraf Rifi and Michel Mouawad, independent lawyers, and affiliates of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and the Azm Movement, led by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Outgoing president Sami Hassan handed over the association’s badge to Daher during a post-election ceremony. In his acceptance speech, Daher said: "Today, we are writing a new page in the history of our association together, at the end of a competition marked by democracy and respect. We are celebrating a victory for the entire Bar." He thanked those who believed in and supported him.
One of the three candidates for the presidency, Elie Daher, had withdrawn from the race on Thursday in favor of Chawki Sassine to consolidate support against Marwan Daher.
Meanwhile, Nabhane Haddad won a three-year term on the association’s council with 721 votes, defeating Zaher Matarji, who received 493.
In keeping with tradition, the Tripoli Bar Association's elections are held on the second Sunday of the month, while those of the Beirut Bar Association will take place on the 16th. Voter turnout in Tripoli was notably high, with 1,387 of 1,559 registered members casting ballots. The bar has 1,626 members, 67 of whom were abroad on election day.
The six-member council is renewed by a third each year. Since its founding in 1921, the Tripoli Bar Association has followed a principle of sectarian rotation: a Christian president succeeds a Muslim president, and vice versa. This year, Daher, a Christian, succeeds Muslim outgoing president Sami Hassan. By tradition, the new council member elected alongside a Christian president must be Muslim, and vice versa.
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