The general assembly of the Beirut Bar Association on Sunday elected lawyer Nohad Jabr as the 48th chief of the association, after an electoral battle in which he competed with candidate Antonio al-Hashem, state-run National News

The general assembly of the Beirut Bar Association on Sunday elected lawyer Nohad Jabr as the 48th chief of the association, after an electoral battle in which he competed with candidate Antonio al-Hashem, state-run National News Agency reported.

Jabr garnered 2,073 votes as al-Hashem received 1,623, after some 3,773 voters took part in the polls to choose a new chief for the association.

Seventy-two voters cast blank ballot papers, while six ballot papers were annulled.

Ahead of the battle for presidency, Jabr, al-Hashem, Georges Estephan and Pierre Hanna were elected as members of the association’s board, while lawyer Nabil Toubia was elected as a substitute.

“After these results, the March 14 forces decided to endorse Nohad Jabr for the president post, although Jabr was nominated by the lawyers committee of the Free Patriotic Movement for the association’s membership,” NNA said.

After his victory, Jabr stressed that “the association is a unifying national forum, which has no concern other than the country’s sovereignty and its people’s freedom,” noting that he belongs to “the association, the lawyers and the nation.”

“I promise you that I will implement what I had pledged in my electoral platform,” Jabr added.