Business | General
Women compete for seats in Riyadh chamber
For the first time in the 50-year history of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, female candidates are posing a stiff challenge to their male counterparts in the election to the chamber's 12-member board of directors.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 23:42 November 12, 2008
Riyadh: For the first time in the 50-year history of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, female candidates are posing a stiff challenge to their male counterparts in the election to the chamber's 12-member board of directors.
There was a heavy turnout to cast ballots at the chamber headquarters on the first day of polling on Wednesday.
The counting of votes will be held today, in which most of the 41,000 members of the chamber are expected to take part.
Long queues of voters stretched from the polling station, located south of Riyadh, as candidates pitched their own tents at the entrance. Electronic facilities are being used this year for the first time.
There are 37 candidates, including three women. They are Amal Badaruddin, Basma Sa'aduddin and Huda Al Jeraisi.
This is the first time women have contested the elections to the chamber board in Riyadh, however, women have been elected to the board of directors of the chambers in Jeddah and Dammam.
Electronic devices
During the campaign, candidates employed highly advanced facilities and electronic devices to attract voters.
They managed to establish close contacts with the 41,000 voters through various means of communications such as e-mail, SMS and fax, besides telephone calls.
Most of the candidates also visited the homes of a large number of businessmen and women, seeking their valuable votes.
Women represent 14.11 per cent of the workforce in the Kingdom and hold about 20 per cent of the assets in Saudi investment funds.
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