JEDDAH, 29 October — The much-talked about board elections at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry will begin here today. The two-day event aims at selecting members of the chamber’s new board of directors.
Eighteen businessmen are contesting the elections to win a seat on the prestigious body. Six of the 12 board seats are allocated for traders, while the rest are for industrialists.
Market analysts are closely watching the elections with great importance as Jeddah represents the business heartland of the country. About 40 percent of Saudi business takes place in Jeddah alone.
Among the candidates contesting for the election, 12 are from the Taawun, or Cooperation, group. Six independents have formed another group, named “Tatwir”, or Development, to confront Taawun, a group of veterans. The Taawun, which won the last election, is represented by many well-known business houses in Jeddah.
The independents include a number of new faces and young businessmen who are standing for the first time.
During the campaign for elections, the Tatwir group stressed the need for giving importance to small and medium traders who constitute the majority of the chamber members. Their number is estimated at more than 24,000, but only 17,000 among them are eligible to vote.
Observers say that Tatwir group is likely to win the elections as it includes young and energetic businessmen. But many others have the opinion that the Taawun would again win the polls as they have the necessary elements for victory.
Sami Idris is one of the active candidates and many believe that he would find a seat in the new board. Both groups stepped up their campaigns in the past days in their bid to win more votes.
Despite a tough competition, it is anticipated that Ishmael Abu Dawood will continue as honorary chairman of the chamber.
The commerce minister will declare the results 24 hours after the polls. Twelve elected candidates will be elected to become members of the board, while four will be nominated to the board from the ministries of commerce and industry.
