Several candidates vying for seats on the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's board of directors have turned to social media to campaign for the elections, which take place on 17 October 2009. The JCCI expects 26 candidates to stand for election to the trade body's board, which has 40,000 active members making it the largest chamber in the GCC. The JCCI's new election system, which involves a single voter choosing only one of the 26 candidates, seems to have created unprecedented competition among candidates according to sources quoted by the Arab News newspaper. Twelve members out of a board of 18 will be elected by JCCI members, while the remaining six will be appointed by the Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry.
The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry itself has had a presence on Facebook since last year and now has a Facebook group with 1,602 members (as of 27 September 2009). The JCCI also has a brand new Twitter account @JeddahChamber registered this month.
So far, Mazen Batterjee, who is currently vice-chairman of chamber, Nasser Al-Farhan, Chairman of Sharakat Al-Khair for Trading Business, and Seifallah Sharbatly, Deputy General Manager of Mohammed Abdallah Sharbatly Co. and CEO of Arabian Agricultural Company (ARATCO) are leveraging Facebook to engage JCCI members. So far, the three candidates combined have connected with more than 1,700 people on Facebook.
Other board members such as Abdullah Marie bin Mahfouz, deputy chairman have used SMS, e-mails and fax messages to engage with the chamber's membership.
Updated 7 October 2009
Facebook: JCCI (old)
Twitter: JCCI
Friends, fans and followers
Facebook: JCCI (new) - 1,602 members, 16 discussion topics, 51 wall posts, 65 photographs, 67 links (27 September 2009)
Facebook: JCCI (old) - 333 members, 8 discussion topics, 33 wall posts, 14 photographs, 16 links (27 September 2009)
Twitter: JCCI - 12 followers (27 September 2009)
Campaign URLs - JCCI election candidates
Facebook: Nasser Al-Farhan (group page) - 453 members, 7 discussion topics, 28 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Mazen Batterjee (group page) - 794 members, 3 discussion topics, 24 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Mazen Batterjee's (event page) - 478 confirmed guests, 31 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Seifallah Sharbatly (group page) - 525 members, 2 discussion topics, 27 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Seifallah Sharbatly (event page) - 291 confirmed guests, 23 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Kaswara Saria Al-Khatib (profile)
News stories
Arab News: Al-Khatib says it’s time for change at JCCI (7 October 2009)
Arab News: JCCI candidates use Eid greetings to woo voters (27 September 2009)
Twitter: JCCI
Friends, fans and followers
Facebook: JCCI (new) - 1,602 members, 16 discussion topics, 51 wall posts, 65 photographs, 67 links (27 September 2009)
Facebook: JCCI (old) - 333 members, 8 discussion topics, 33 wall posts, 14 photographs, 16 links (27 September 2009)
Twitter: JCCI - 12 followers (27 September 2009)
Campaign URLs - JCCI election candidates
Facebook: Nasser Al-Farhan (group page) - 453 members, 7 discussion topics, 28 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Mazen Batterjee (group page) - 794 members, 3 discussion topics, 24 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Mazen Batterjee's (event page) - 478 confirmed guests, 31 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Seifallah Sharbatly (group page) - 525 members, 2 discussion topics, 27 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Seifallah Sharbatly (event page) - 291 confirmed guests, 23 wall posts (27 September 2009)
Facebook: Kaswara Saria Al-Khatib (profile)
News stories
Arab News: Al-Khatib says it’s time for change at JCCI (7 October 2009)
Arab News: JCCI candidates use Eid greetings to woo voters (27 September 2009)
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