JEDDAH: The presence of a large number of car drivers of different nationalities at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Sunday was clearly indicative of a large turnout of women voters for the JCCI board member elections.
The election committee had allocated Sunday for women members to vote. The next three days are for men to cast their votes to pick 12 members from 60 candidates who are contesting the election. The seven women contestants were present at the chamber since the early hours of the day to canvass for votes.
Women candidates believe they would get the maximum female votes, which account for 20 percent of votes.
While the competition between candidates was at its peak inside the polling booth, drivers spent their time outside chatting with fellow nationals about politics, the economic situation and families back home. Some drivers assisted women contestants in distributing brochures containing their election manifestos to men in order to get the maximum amount of votes from male chamber members.
Some women contestants had opened a coffee shop outside the chamber to canvass voters while others distributed gifts. But male candidates excelled their women counterparts by offering valuable presents.
