Businesswoman Maimuna Bafakeeh was the first to file the nomination papers for election to the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). The elections are to be held in mid-September. Among businessmen, Ahmad Al-Dosari was the first to file his papers before the election committee.
Major industrialists and businesspersons are expected to file nomination papers in the coming days to contest the election. The last date for the filing of nomination papers is July 14.
Yahya Azzan, head of the committee supervising the elections, urged both male and female entrepreneurs who are eligible to contest to come forward and file their nomination papers. The election committee has three members: Abdullah Al-Hilali, Amer Al-Enzi and Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s representative Faisal Al-Shaikh.
The qualification criteria stipulates that candidates should be Saudi, they should be members of the JCCI and not younger than 30 years of age (25 years if the candidate holds a bachelor’s degree in business or industrial field). The minister of commerce has the power to decrease the term to one year for a holder of a college degree in business.
Muhieddeen Hakami, JCCI’s deputy secretary-general, said all arrangements were made to ensure smooth conduct of the election process, and that there were 50,000 members who are eligible to vote.
“For the first time ever, the elections will be conducted via TV circuit and sorting and counting of votes will be done electronically,” he said, adding that for the first time again, candidates can submit their nominations through the website.
The elections will be held at the Jeddah International Exhibition Center, Hakami said, and called on all JCCI members to update their personal and business data, and pay membership fees so that they can qualify for voting.
Businesswoman among first to file papers for JCCI elections
