JUBAIL, 19 February 2006 — Elections to the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s board of directors began with Jubail and Hafr Al-Batin voting yesterday.

Voters will go to the polls today in Qatif and Khafji and tomorrow women voters will cast their votes at the EPCCI headquarters in Dammam.

The final leg of the polling will be in Dammam on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Some 11,000 chamber members, who are eligible to vote, will elect 12 members of the 18-member board and the Commerce and Industry Ministry will appoint the remaining six.

Voter turnout in Jubail was less than 50 percent; only 350 business executives out of 960 cast their votes. In Hafr Al-Batin the polling was slightly higher, with precisely half of the 460 registered voters casting their votes.

The counting may start on Thursday and results will be announced on the same day.

The election to the chamber, which is contested every four years, has evoked more interest than usual because of the six businesswomen candidates. Four of the women candidates have formed their own group called Watania (Nationalists), while two women candidates are contesting as independents.

The victory of two businesswomen in the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry elections has raised hope among the businesswomen of their winning the battle and gaining seats in the hitherto all-male board.

Saleh Al-Humaidan, managing director of the Al-Youm Group of Publications and a former assistant secretary-general of the EPCCI, said that he sees participation of the businesswomen in the elections as part of reforms under way in Saudi Arabia.

“More than the results, the participation of businesswomen in the polls and their acceptance by the people is important,” said Al-Humaidan.

Many businessmen and intellectuals have welcomed women’s participation in the elections.

“It is a very healthy beginning and it ushers in a new era,” said Abdullah Al-Qahtani, a leading businessmen in Dammam.

Amina Al-Jassem, a US graduate in computer and business administration and one of the six female candidates, said she was optimistic.

“I expect at least one, or even two women will get elected,” she said.

Dawood Al-Ossaimi, one of 40 men in the running, said it was important for women to make it to the board.

“The entry of women into the board of directors (of the Eastern Province Chamber) is a necessity,” said Al-Ossaimi. “We are betting on educated businessmen (to vote them into the board).”

Only 400 women are among the 11,000 registered voters. Therefore, even if a woman candidate is going to win, it will be with the support of male members.

The four women candidates running on a single list are Western-educated, active businesswomen and have worked at one time or other at Saudi Aramco.

There were moves to bring all women candidate on a single list, but eventually they failed to strike an alliance.

This year there are four groups that are contesting the polls. These groups include Al-Taawun (Cooperation) led by the current chairman of the EPCCI, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, and his vice president and leading businessman of the region Maan Al-Sanea; Itihad Sharqiya (Eastern Alliance); Sharqiya (Eastern); and Watania that include four of the six women candidates. Six businessmen are running as independent candidates.

Women were barred from landmark nationwide municipal elections last year. The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry polls last November were the first in which women stood as candidates. Another Saudi woman scored a first the following month when she won election to the engineers’ syndicate.