DAMMAM: With just two days to go for elections for the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry board, there is little or no enthusiasm among the business community and the general population.

The whole process has lacked color and campaigning has been utterly low-key. The current scene is in sharp contrast to the bonhomie that was witnessed during the first elections four years ago.

At that time, the Eastern Province witnessed boisterous campaigning with women taking an active part in the process. Tents were set up by prominent candidates at key places then and meetings and canvassing by candidates would take place till late in the nights.

There is no such thing this time precisely because of the new rules and regulations that prohibit candidates from campaigning publicly. It was like a carnival last time. Newspapers were full of advertisements of contenders promising to do this and that if they were elected. There were promises and enticements. There was no such thing this time.

There are 36 candidates in the fray, including three women: Dina Al-Fares, Suad Alzaydi and Fowzia Al-Karri. This is far less than the number of candidates during the last elections, four years ago. At that time, 53 candidates, including six women, were in the running. Voting will take place in various Eastern Province cities from Saturday, Dec. 19, and will conclude on Wednesday, Dec. 23. On the first day, voting will take place in Khafji and Qatif. The next day, Sunday, Dec. 20, businessmen and women will vote in Hafr Al-Batin and Ras Tanura. On Monday, voting will take place in Jubail.

The same day, women will vote at the chamber headquarters in Dammam. On Tuesday and Wednesday, businessmen will vote in Dammam and Alkhobar. Results are expected to be announced late on Wednesday night.

Nearly 24,000 voters from Dammam, Alkhobar, Dhahran, Jubail, Ras Tanura, Qatif, Saihat and Hafr Al-Batin will elect 12 members from a list of 36 candidates.

The commerce and industry minister will appoint another six members to the 18-member board. Representatives of two prominent business houses in the region, the Al-Zamils and the Al-Gosaibis, are missing from the list of candidates.

Prominent among those in the list who are favorite to win a seat on the Asharqia board are Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, Ibrahim Al-Jomaih, Khaled H. Al-Qahtani, Abdullah Al-Ammar and Fahd Al-Shariya. Chances of any of the three women winning a seat through the elections appear remote.

Among the women candidates, Alzaydi is a familiar name because she headed the businesswomen’s committee at the Asharqia Chamber and she was also among the six women who ran unsuccessfully in the last elections four years ago. Al-Karri is not well-known in the Eastern Province business circles.