DAMMAM: Hundreds turned out to vote as the Eastern Province chamber elections entered their final phase on Tuesday. The atmosphere was carnival-like at the Asharqia Chamber headquarters on the Dammam-Alkhobar highway with the 36 candidates and their supporters and relatives courting voters with baklava and Arabic coffee.
So far, 7,000 businessmen and women have cast their votes in the various Eastern Province cities of Dammam, Jubail, Ras Tanura, Qatif, Khafji and Hafr Al-Batin. Wednesday is the last day of voting and results are expected on Thursday morning. Of the 36 candidates, 12 will be elected. Another six will be nominated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The 18-member board will then choose a president and vice president from among them. Conventionally, a president is chosen through consensus but an internal ballot cannot be ruled out.
The business community here is expecting a final vote count of 9,000. “This is far more than what we expected,” said prominent businessman Khalid A. Al-Abdulkarim. “More importantly, this number will be higher than the number in Jeddah. Only 7,000 voted in the Jeddah chamber elections. This will be a reason for us to draw comfort,” he said. “Remember, Jeddah has a far higher number of businessmen and women.”
Dr. Solaiman A.M. Solaiman agreed with Al-Abdulkarim’s assessment. “Today was a good day in terms of turnout. There is great enthusiasm and it was fun to watch voters being brought to the polling center in minivans. This is what elections are all about,” he told Arab News.
All of the three women candidates, Dina Al-Faris, Suad Alzaydi and Fawzia Al-Karri, came to the polling center with their relatives and supporters. They remained undaunted by the poor turnout of businesswomen on Monday and were actively canvassing votes. They were in a cheerful mood and certainly relishing the battle of ballots. Dina was accompanied by her father Abdallah O. Al-Faris.
“Dina is a highly educated person,” Abdallah Al-Faris told Arab News. “She is representing the younger generation of Saudis. She is qualified and fully fit to assume leadership roles. She has my full support. Whether she wins or not is not the question. What is important is to change the way we think. She deserves to win on the basis of what she is bringing to the table. Let us hope she wins. That will be a real game changer.”
Young businessman Noufal Al-Solaiman was excited at the colorful atmosphere. “Elections are new to us. I was actively involved in these elections four years ago. We have come a long way since those days. There is greater participation of young people this time,” he said, pointing out at the candidature of Ghodran Saeed Al-Ghamdi and Fares Al-Subaie.
“They are young people and they are courageous enough to have come forward to contest these elections and they have run their campaigns admirably. These are good signs.” Supporting Fares Al-Subaie was his brother Mohammed. A graduate of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, he was confident of his brother’s victory.
