DAMMAM: Elections to the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce board saw the emergence of six new faces, according to results announced on Thursday morning. None of the three women contestants could win a seat despite running a spirited campaign in the last four weeks.
After a week of sometimes boisterous and sometimes dull polling, the votes were counted on Wednesday night, putting 12 members at the Asharqia Chamber’s helm of affairs for the next four years.
Those who emerged victorious from the list of 36 candidates were Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, Ibrahim Al-Jomaih, Abdullah Al-Majdouie, Khaled Al-Qahtani, Ghassan Al-Nemer, Faisal Al-Quraishi, Abdullah Al-Ammar, Fahd Al-Shureia, Saleh Al-Syed, Hassan Al-Zahrani, Khaled Al-Ammar and Abdulhadi Al-Zaabi.
Another six members will be nominated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry making it an 18-member board. The new board will then elect a president from among them either through consensus or through an internal ballot. The entire exercise may take another two weeks to complete.
There were 24,000 eligible voters in the Eastern Province cities of Dammam, Alkhobar, Jubail, Khafji, Ras Tanura, Qatif and Hafr Al-Batin. Of that number, 8,650 voted in a five-phase polling that began on Dec. 19.
Despite their best efforts, none of the three women in the elections, Suad Alzaydi, Deena Al-Faris and Fawzia Al-Karri, could taste victory. Businesswomen are now pinning their hopes on the commerce and industry minister to nominate at least two women to the board.
Among the winners, Abdullah Al-Ammar turned out to be the most popular businessman garnering 833 votes. Fahd Al-Shureia came No. 2 with 829 votes. Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, who currently heads the chamber, polled 653 votes though everybody thought he would bag the maximum number of votes. Ibrahim Al-Jomaih, who got 610 votes, followed him. Ghassan Al-Nemer was at the No. 5 spot with 516 votes.
The six new faces that emerged victorious were Abdullah Al-Ammar, Saleh Al-Syed, Abdullah Al-Majdouie, Abdulhadi Al-Zaabi, Faisal Al-Quraishi and Hassan Al-Zahrani.
The Eastern Province business community welcomed the poll outcome and was lavish in its praise of the election committee, headed by Yehya Al-Azzan, for conducting free, fair and transparent elections. The business community was especially delighted at what it considered was a large turnout when compared to the polling percentages in Jeddah and Riyadh.
“We always felt that there is a greater enthusiasm in the Eastern Province for elections. This has been proved once again by the large number of voter turnout in these elections. About 6,000 voted in Jeddah chamber elections and about the same number of voters took part in Riyadh elections. Both Jeddah and Riyadh have a very high number of businesses. Therefore, for us in the Eastern Province this is a great honor and we appreciate and congratulate the voters for this honor,” said businessman Khalid A. Al-Abdulkarim.
“I am happy with the overall results.”
Ibrahim Al-Jomaih thanked the voters for electing him to the board.
“It is always a humbling experience. Ever since the polls closed at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, I was a little tense. One always is when one is expecting a result of this nature. I kept awake the whole night and was a happy man when the results were declared at around 7 a.m. on Thursday. Victory means responsibility and we will do our best to make Eastern Province chamber a model institution,” he told Arab News. The new board, he said, would have an interesting mix of old and new “and that augurs well for the chamber.”
Another prominent businessman Salman Al-Jishi, who did not contest the election this time, said the results were satisfactory.
“The one disappointment is the defeat of women candidates. However, we have to respect the choice of voters. It is their right to choose the people they think will take them in the right direction. And they have chosen. It is a good choice,” he said and especially referred to the victory of Khaled Al-Ammar as the victory for young generation. “He represents the youth and I am glad he won,” Al-Jishi said.
Among the 8,650 chamber members who voted, there was a significant percentage of foreign investors. There are many foreigners who are running successful businesses in the Eastern Province thanks to commercial licenses issued by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). “As foreign investors, we are registered members of the chamber and that allows us to vote in such elections,” said Verghese Moolan, an investor from India who deals in spices. “I took part in the February 2006 elections as well. This is my second time and I was happy to see the business community’s enthusiasm for elections and electioneering,” said Moolan.
Other foreign investors who voted during this election suggested that in future they should also be allowed to run. “We need somebody to represent the interest of foreign investors in the chamber. Who can know our problems better than one of us?” said Faiz Sulaiman, another investor from India.
Some of the foreign investors referred to the recent victory of M.A. Yussafali in the Abu Dhabi chamber elections. “In Abu Dhabi, foreign investors can contest chamber elections. Yussafali’s victory has created a very positive impact in Saudi Arabia. I think the Abu Dhabi model can be applied here as well. That will boost the confidence of foreign investors in the Saudi system and will bring in more investment,” suggested Sulaiman. “This can be a step in the right direction.”
