Dr Ansari, who is a senior physician working at Bir Hospital, defeated his main contender Professor Chanda Karki by 106 votes. According to Dr Anil Kumar Jha, Dr Ansari bagged 1,631 votes, whereas Dr Karki got 1,552 votes. [break]
He said that Dr Ansari is very much popular among doctors and has been elected thrice as a member of the council. Dr Ankur Shah, Dr Roshan Pia, Dr Ganesh Gurung, Dr Manohar Pradhan, Dr Satish Dev, Dr Sibaji Poudel, Dr Kuldeep Goyal and Dr Bishoraj Dawadi are the other new NMC members. Forty-one contenders were vying for six posts in the recently concluded election. The NMC election began from on August 26 from outside the Valley in 13 polling stations. The election was held in capital from August 31 to September 1.
Dr Jha said that out of 13,200 voters only 5,984 cast their votes. He said that a lot of member doctors are abroad that is why very few votes were cast. Likewise, a lot of doctors working in the remote parts of the country were deprived of the opportunity to cast votes.
Out of 20 members of the NMC, election has conducted for eight posts. The Ministry of Health and Population selects 9 members. Other two are permanent positions claimed by chairman of Nepal Medical Association (NMA) and the Nepal Dental Association ((NDA). The NMC election is held every four years. The NMC is an autonomous body that regulates ethical practices of the doctors.
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