The Ministry of Commerce will closely monitor social media accounts of candidates running for executive positions at Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The committee responsible for supervising the Chambers of Commerce at the Ministry of Trade and Industry aims to put social networks and other websites under surveillance to monitor possible violations by candidates.

The committee said one candidate is under investigation for abusing his competitor through WhatsApp messages. It said that candidates are allowed to make statements to the press but they can’t publish their programs or advertise in newspapers. Female voters will be allowed to use male quarters for voting, either by coming in person or through their official representatives. However, they are expected to come in person to check their documents after approving the electronic voting systems inside voting headquarters, said Yahya Azran, chairman of the elections’ supervising committee at the Ministry of Trade.

Electronic voting will be approved inside the voting headquarters at the Chambers of Commerce to speed up and facilitate vote counts. The traditional voting process used in earlier elections will not be repeated because of its inconvenience and the tedious counting process.

Procedures and regulations in past elections that are based on an individual voting mechanism are not going to change. There will be no parties or groups and voting will still take place on a one person, one vote basis.

Azran said that there are two mechanisms in place if any of the three female candidates in the Eastern province Chamber is excluded. Two extra days will be given to the voters and they will be given two chances. They can either come to vote in person or through a representative assigned by the chamber. Azran expected voting areas to be expanded by moving the location to the Al-Thahran exhibition area.

He said that initial acceptance of candidates, whether male or female, is still under study.

Those accepted will be called in for a meeting to clarify what is allowed in the system and present them with a list of voters. He stressed the ban of promotional advertising of candidates’ programs, either in newspapers or on the streets.

Candidates can use social networks through their Twitter or Facebook accounts. He expected the number of voters to rise in this election and stressed the exclusion of any candidates who commit violations. Even a candidate who won will be excluded if caught abusing promotional outlets or violating rules and regulations.

After choosing the candidates and approving the final list, the ministry will clarify the type of violations that can cause exclusion, he added.

Azran said these elections are seeing new faces, as most are young people, so they will be characterized by targeting young people, more so than previous elections.

Sources said the Eastern Province Chamber elections would most probably be delayed until December instead of November to finalize procedures related to final candidate lists.

The committee supervising the elections in the Jeddah Chamber announced postponing voting until after the end of the Haj season. Elections were supposed to take place in mid-September. Candidates can now launch their campaigns and electoral appeals, which is expected to end before the religious occasion.