A total of 53 candidates have filed their nominations for elections to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (JCCI) Board of Directors. Forty-two of them were from the trade sector and 11 from the industry sector. Half of the nominations were filed Sunday.

Nominations began being accepted two weeks ago. Sunday, which was the last day, saw dozens of candidates approaching election supervisors with their nomination papers.

The current chairman of the JCCI and prominent businessman Saleh Kamel and many of the present board members are also in the fray for re-election. They include Mazen Baterjee, Ziyad Al-Bassam, Zuhair Al-Marhoumy, Bassam Akhdar, Abdullah Bin Mahfouz and Fatin Bundagji.

Yahya Azzan, an official from the Ministry of Commerce and an election supervisor, told Arab News that the election committee has acted transparently and has created enough publicity for the event.

He said that voting will be done electronically for the first time, adding that the polling date will be announced later.

Al-Bassam and Bundagji said they were happy to see the election take place in a healthy atmosphere through the participation of all segments of the business community.

New candidates in the spotlight are Rania Salama, Sara Ayid, Abdulaziz Soya and Hamza Aun.

The younger generation from within the business community has again shown interest in the election. The Ministry of Commerce has set the minimum age for participation at 30 years in a bid to attract more young blood in business decision making.

Candidates who are degree holders in business management or have been in the field of business for three years may be exempted from age stipulations set by the Ministry of Commerce.

Several young candidates coming under this criterion approached election supervisors on Sunday, who advised them to approach the minister’s office in Riyadh or Jeddah to seek exemption and submit their documents.



Established in 1946, The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has 65,000 members on its payroll.