JEDDAH: As many as 68 businessmen and women, including 53 traders and 15 industrialists, have filed their nominations to contest elections for the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (JCCI) board of directors.
The election will be held on Oct. 10-14 to pick 12 members, six each from the two groups, to form the next JCCI board with a four-year term. The board will have 18 members, including six nominated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Othman Basaqar, deputy secretary-general of the chamber and a member of the election committee, said the deadline to file nominations was on Saturday. He said the newly nominated candidates do not represent many well-known business families. He, however, pointed out that eight existing board members are contesting the poll.
Basaqar said that unlike before, this election would be held on an individual basis. Previous elections were contested by two groups of candidates. “Industrialists have a greater chance this time to win the election as they have only 15 candidates,” he pointed out.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has banned candidates from directly publicizing their names in the media. However, the ministry has not banned the holding of election campaigns.
The election committee will hold a meeting on Saturday to determine the modalities of campaigns. Candidates will also be allowed to use the Internet. Abdullah Marae Binmahfouz, deputy chairman of JCCI, used Facebook in the last election to mobilize votes.
Muhiyuddin Hikami, director of technology and information at JCCI, said representatives of nearly 30,000 businesses and industries in Jeddah would have the right to vote in the election as they have renewed their membership while some 10,000 have not yet renewed it.
The winning of two female candidates in the last election has encouraged more women to contest the election. This time, seven businesswomen have come forward. Three of them — Lama Al-Suleiman, Nashwa Taher and Madhawi Hassoun — are members of the existing board.
Other women contesting the election are Ezdihar Mustafa Kamal, Amani Ibrahim Abdul Wasie, Sousan Suleiman Shadli and Ghada Abbas Faeq Ghazzawi.
— With input from Sultan Al-Tamimi.
