Elections for members of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce for the 19th term (1443–1447 AH) will conclude this evening, Wednesday, and voters began casting their ballots last Sunday morning.

The Ministry reported that the total number of votes cast for the candidates reached 24,393, with 8,000 voters casting ballots over the past 48 hours. Eighteen candidates are competing for nine of the Chamber’s 18 board seats.

The Ministry of Commerce clarified that the voting process is proceeding in accordance with the established regulatory framework, which allows for the use of modern technology in the election and voting, and gives voters the option to cast individual or group votes for Board members.

In accordance with the new Chambers of Commerce regulations, the Ministry of Commerce oversees elections for the boards of directors of the chambers of commerce with the aim of enhancing transparency and improving the chambers’ performance, The Ministry also monitors candidates’ compliance with fair competition, adherence to rules, regulations, and instructions, and respect for the rights of other candidates—including refraining from interfering with their election campaigns.
It should be noted that the new Chamber of Commerce system and its implementing regulations include a number of benefits, the most important of which are establishing criteria for evaluating the performance of chambers of commerce, the publication of approved evaluation results on the chamber’s website, the strengthening of public-private partnerships, the establishment of institutional entities meeting international standards, and the monitoring and improvement of the performance of commercial entities.