With winning candidates announced, aggrieved runners now have one week to make appeals to the JCCI, and sources say they may be lining up by the dozen. “The results do not reflect reality,” said one trader candidate. “There have been clear electoral irregularities affecting the transparency of the vote.” The trader claimed that some 18 runners had presented on Wednesday to the Minister of Trade and Industry a list of ten points of contention, and that almost all the winners would be investigated for breaches of electoral rules. “The supervisory committees were lenient in their enforcement of the rules and some candidates were permitted to quite openly accompany voters right up to the ballot boxes and cabins,” the candidate said. The candidates, he said, would demand a ministry committee be set up to identify injustices. “We will pursue the matter until it is investigated and the whole process reviewed,” the trader said. If after a week no appeals are forthcoming, however, the completion of the Board will be left in the hands of Abdullah Alireza, the Minister of Trade and Industry. “The Minister will appoint the remaining six members – three traders and three industrialists,” said JCCI General Secretary Mustafa Sabri. “Once the make-up of the Board has been finalized it will then hold its first meeting to elect a chairman and two vice chairmen, as well a JCCI representative for at the Council of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce,” Sabri said. The current Board of Directors, chaired by Mohammed Al-Fadl, cease duties on Nov. 5, when the new board will assume its responsibility. Al-Fadl said he was pleased with the election process, describing it as “clean and flawless”. Yesterday, Thursday, the race began for Al-Fadh's seat, the most prized seat of all – Chairman of the Board – with those in the know singling out four main candidates: Abdullah Sadiq Dahlan, Abdullah Bin Mahfoudh, Ziyad Al-Bassam and Mazen Al-Batarji, all of whom have considerable previous experience on the Board.
