The nomination forms of 20 out of 22 candidates were found to be in order after a thorough scrutiny conducted by a seven-member election commission headed by Principal E.K. Mohammed Shaffe.
Among the candidates, seven are from Andhra Pradesh, four from Kerala, four from Bihar, two from Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Only seven members are to be elected for the new committee and the rules bar voters from selecting more than two candidates from any particular state.
The list of candidates includes an eclectic mix of doctors, chief executives, managing directors, general managers, sales managers and professors. Some of the candidates are quite familiar and popular in the community while others are lesser known. All of them, however, hold top positions in their respective companies.
The candidates are Abdulla Manjeri (Kerala), Shamshad Ahmed (Delhi), Javed Hafeez (Uttar Pradesh), Mohammed Abdul Waris (Andhra Pradesh), Syed Qaiser Ali (Bihar), Hasnain Mohammed Akhtar (Uttar Pradesh), Hakeem Mahmood Dowla (Andhra Pradesh), Haradwala Mohammed Farooque (Gujarat), Mohammed Moizuddin (Andhra Pradesh), R. Sunil Mohammad (Kerala), Arif Khan (Bihar), Abdul Hai Munawar (Andhra Pradesh), K.M. Thirunavukkarasu (Tamil Nadu), Raju Kurian (Kerala), Mohammad Omer Zaman Khan (Andhra Pradesh), Mohammed Zulfeqar (Bihar), Ravi Radhakrishna Murthy (Andhra Pradesh), Khurshid Anwer (Bihar), Nazeer Mohammed Zahid (Kerala) and Mohammed Abdul Majeed (Andhra Pradesh).
Candidates can still withdraw their nominations by Saturday, April 14. The elections are to take place on Thursday, April 26, and according to a list of voters published on the school’s website, more than 9,000 parents are eligible to vote.
Some sections of the community have been caught up in the election fever ever since the dates were first announced two months ago. The latest announcement will only lead to a frenetic electoral activity.
The school managing committee is elected for a three-year term. When constituted, this will be the fourth elected managing committee at the Dammam school. The election system has its fair share of critics and admirers.
Elections were last held in November 2008 and the response from the parent community then was lackadaisical at best. Only 2,000 out of the 9,000 voters had bothered to cast their votes.
“We hope to have a better voting percentage this time,” said Principal Shaffe. “We appeal to all eligible parents to take an active part in the managing committee elections and to use their vote judiciously.”
