Fifty candidates will contest elections to the board of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Jan. 6.
During the four-day polling, voters will pick winners for 12 seats on the board for a four-year term.
The first three days of the polling are allocated for men while the last day is for women.
“During the next two months, candidates will get a chance to present their programs to develop the chamber and improve its services,” said Yahya Azzan, representative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the election supervisor.
A number of contestants had withdrawn their names in the past few days.
“The final list includes 42 men and women from trader’s community and eight industrialists,” he said. Voters will select six traders and six industrialists to the board.
“A total of nine women are contesting the election. We have noticed that none of the women has withdrawn her name,” Azzan told Arab News.
Although there are about 65,000 members in the chamber, Azzan does not believe all of them would participate in the election. “The election committee has removed all obstacles facing the poll. Women can bring either their national ID or passport or family card to prove their identity,” he said.
Adnan Mandoura, secretary-general of JCCI, said he expected greater enthusiasm from young businessmen and businesswomen during this election, compared to previous JCCI polls. “We expect a number of new and young faces in the upcoming board of directors,” he told Arab News.
50 candidates in fray for JCCI elections
