DAMMAM: Board members at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry re-elected Abdulrahman Al-Rashed on Monday to lead the organization. Abdullah Al-Ammar and Fahd Al-Shureia were elected vice presidents.
This will be 48-year-old Al-Rashed’s third consecutive term as Asharqia Chamber chief. His election puts him in the same category as the longest-serving president of the Eastern Province chamber, the late Saad Al-Moajil. The US-educated Al-Rashed became the chamber’s president for the first time in 2002 and then again in 2006. He belongs to the prominent Rashed Al-Rashed and Sons Group and sits on the board of more than a dozen key business organizations.
Of the 12 elected and six government-appointed members, 17 turned up to vote for a new president and two vice presidents at the chamber headquarters on the Dammam-Alkhobar Highway. Khaled Al-Qahtani was absent. The elections were held behind closed doors. They were not without the drama normally associated with such elections. According to sources, Al-Qahtani was among the contenders for the top post, and his absence from the meeting had a reason. “He may have realized that he did not have sufficient backing among the new members to get the top post. That may have prompted him to skip today’s meeting,” said one of the elected members who requested anonymity.
Typically, the president has been elected by board members by a show of hands. This time, however, lack of unanimity on a single candidate led to a secret ballot.
Soon after the meeting started, Ibrahim Al-Jomaih — widely seen as a main contender for the presidency along with Al-Rashed — proposed Al-Rashed’s name for the top post and called for his unanimous election. This was, however, contested by Abdulhadi Al-Zaabi who put forward his name for the top post. This led to balloting between the two candidates. Al-Rashed got 14 votes. The remainder went to Al-Zaabi.
Al-Rashed is seen by a majority of the members as a safe choice to head the chamber because of his past experience at the top. This was confirmed by businessmen inside and outside the chamber.
“He is the best choice,” said businessman Khalid Abdulkarim. “This is excellent news. What we have seen today was democracy in action. Now that the elections are over, everyone will get down to business as one team,” he said.
Samira Al-Suwaigh, one of the two women members, was delighted to take part in what she rightly described as history in the making.
“Women finally have become part of the decision-making process. I am happy at Al-Rashed’s election as president. He is very qualified, and most importantly, he enjoys our trust,” she said.
For Hana Al-Zuhair, the other woman member, it was also a positive experience. “I have seen elections before but from the sidelines. That was when I was the manager of the Businesswomen’s Center at the chamber. Al-Rashed deserves to be the president.”
Al-Rashed’s victory came after days of hectic electioneering and campaigning in the Eastern Province cities of Dammam, Jubail, Ras Tanura, Qatif, Khafji and Hafr Al-Batin. Interestingly, he did not win the highest number of votes in the elections. That honor went to Abdullah Al-Ammar who received 833 votes. Fahd Al-Shureia came second with 829 votes, and Al-Rashed was third with 653 votes. In his first reaction, Al-Rashed said: “Every time it is a new challenge. I am overwhelmed by the support of the members. This is a dynamic institution, and there are many strategic programs in the process of implementation. Our priority will be to continue the good work that we have been doing all this while.”
