JEDDAH: The 26 candidates contesting the Oct. 17 elections for the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) board of directors have been sending thousands of Eid greetings in a bid to woo votes.
“For the first time in my life, I have sent Eid greetings to more than 30,000 people,” said a candidate, who is running for the second time and who asked his name not be published. He said it took his campaign team four days to complete sending the greetings by fax and e-mails.
“They worked day and night to finish the job,” he added. “I only used to send Eid greetings to a few hundred close friends, relatives and big customers. This was the first time I have sent Eid greetings to such a large number of people,” he said, adding that he undertook the initiative to attract votes.
Ali Hassan Nagoor, another candidate, said sending Eid felicitations is an Islamic custom that will benefit candidates. “It will consolidate social ties among businessmen, help create a close trade community and help introduce candidates to the business community in Jeddah,” he added.
Nagoor said the commercial sector has greatly expanded in Jeddah, representing about 40 percent of trade activities in the Kingdom. “The JCCI is the largest Saudi, Gulf and Arab chamber with about 40,000 active members,” he said.
Nagoor said the Eid greetings that the candidates sent to potential voters also included requests for votes, and some words about the sender’s achievements and abilities.
Abdullah Marie bin Mahfouz, deputy chairman of the JCCI, said SMS, e-mails and fax messages containing Eid greetings were sent. He added that some candidates, copying Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, placed their greetings on Facebook accounts that have been specifically created for the elections.
Abdul Aziz Al-Wattar, media director at the JCCI’s Jeddah Marketing Council, said the new system that involves a single voter choosing only one of 26 candidates has created unprecedented competition among candidates. The election was earlier done through lists of 12 people consisting of an equal number of businessmen and industrialists.
“Voters were confused by the heaps of greetings arriving on their mobile phones, e-mail inboxes or fax machines. Some of them have been left confused as to whom to choose,” he added.
The election to the JCCI board is scheduled to take place on Oct. 17. Twelve members of the 18-strong board will be elected by the members of the chamber while the remaining six will be appointed by the minister of commerce and industry.
