VZCZCXRO0893
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR RUEHROV
DE RUEHJI #0391/01 2881410
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151410Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1565
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8549
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0138
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCNDTA/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0108
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/FO, EEB/ESC, DRL, R, NEA/PPD; 
DEPARTMENT PLS PASS TO USTR FOR CHRIS WILSON; 
USDOC PASS TO RIYADH, JEDDAH, DHAHRAN; 
TREASURY DEPT FOR SECRETARY GEITHNER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2019 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KWMN PGOV SOCI SA
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES, TRIBAL MEMBERS, AND ONE 
FEMALE INCUMBENT WIN JEDDAH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ELECTIONS 
AMID PRESS REPORTS OF VOTE BUYING 
 
REF: A. JEDDAH 0381 
     ¶B. JEDDAH 0297 
 
JEDDAH 00000391  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d) 
 
 SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
--------------------- 
¶1. (C) Religious conservatives, tribal members, and alleged 
vote-buyers won seats on the board of directors of the Jeddah 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) -- a progressive, 
independent power center in Saudi Arabia's commercial capital 
-- in a hotly contested, intensely covered election 
characterized by record turnout and widespread reports of 
corruption and fights.  Only one woman was elected, incumbent 
Lama Sulaiman, who received the second-highest number of 
votes among the 12 winners.  The Minister of Commerce and 
Industry, Abdullah Zainal Alireza, is expected to announce 
his six appointees to the 18-member board within the next few 
days.  Female candidates believe the minister will appoint 
only as many women as were elected to the board (i.e., one). 
Newspapers reported that some candidates had called on the 
Ministry to invalidate the election results because of fraud, 
but the Ministry rebuffed their request, saying the elections 
were fair.  Reformist candidates expressed frustration and 
disillusionment with the electoral process, which appears to 
have benefited well-organized Islamists determined to roll 
back the gains made by women under the JCCI board elected in 
¶2005. It is unclear whether the intense media coverage of 
both the positive and negative aspects of the JCCI elections 
signals greater press freedom, or was simply allowed because 
it showed the disadvantages of elections and did not cross 
any red lines.  But the results of the "one voter, one vote" 
system in an election the wealthiest and more progressive 
merchant families opted not to contest suggest the risks 
attending the election process in Saudi Arabia.  End summary 
and comment. 
 
 
Islamist majority determined to send women back home 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2. (C) Consulate contacts and Saudi media reported that seven 
newcomers and five incumbents won the 12 elected seats on the 
JCCI board.  The new board appears to be dominated by 
Islamic-hardliners committed to rolling back the gains made 
by women during the past four years.  Only two clear 
supporters of women's participation in the economy were 
elected, Abdullah Dahlan (a former JCCI chairman and Shura 
Council member) and incumbent Lama Sulaiman (the only woman 
elected).  The progressive JCCI board chosen in 2005, which 
was elected as a 12-member slate headed by Jeddah's 
wealthiest families, allowed women to work alongside men at 
the JCCI building (a breakthrough in Saudi Arabia, which 
strictly segregates the sexes) and challenged laws, 
regulations, and customs discriminating against women.  In 
the run-up to the election, hard-line candidates refused to 
attend official meetings with the female contenders, and seem 
unlikely to allow mixed-gender board meetings. 
 
Al-Watan Arabic daily newspaper and consulate contacts 
reported the following results: 
 
Traders: Essam Naas, 282 votes; Mohamed Habib Khojah, 278 
votes; Ziad Bassam, 258 votes; Bassam Akhdar, 234 votes; Dr. 
Abdullah Dahlan, 185 votes; Zuhair Al-Marhoumi, 135 votes. 
 
Industrialists: Saleem al Harbi, 567 votes; Lama Sulaiman, 
557 votes; Abdullah Marei Bin Mahfouz, 496 votes; Mazen 
Batterjee, 435 votes; Ahmed Al Murabaei, 389 votes; Sheikh 
Abdulkhalek Saeed, 302 votes. 
 
Septel with biographic information on the new JCCI board will 
follow. 
 
 
 
JEDDAH 00000391  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
"Unfair elections, unfair competition" 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Several candidates contacted by the Consulate 
expressed frustration and disillusionment with the electoral 
process, saying they observed other candidates offering money 
for votes.  Some female candidates told us that the small 
business owners that had earlier promised to vote for them 
were offered money (between 2,000-3,000 SR, or $500-$750) by 
male candidates and changed their votes after the women 
refused to pay more.  Female candidates maintained they had 
little chance of winning since they were honest and did not 
bribe voters.  Local press ran articles about campaign 
corruption, including photographs of a candidate paying an 
eligible voter and an SMS message offering to buy votes.  The 
media also reported (and contacts confirmed) altercations 
between official election observers and candidates whose 
complaints about repeat voters were ignored.  According to 
multiple sources, fights broke out at the polls between the 
sons of two prominent candidates (Essam Naas and Abdullah 
Dahlan) after Dahlan's sons accused the other side of 
distributing money to voters.  Besides cash, candidates 
offered a variety of other inducements to voters, including 
lavish buffets in air-conditioned tents outside the polls. 
 
 
Disillusion with democracy? 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Comment. The intense and frank press coverage of the 
JCCI board election -- among the most open coverage post has 
witnessed -- could be interpreted as a sign of greater press 
freedom. Alternatively, the media coverage may have been 
allowed or encouraged in order to showcase the negative 
aspects of elections and democracy. The defeated progressive 
candidates, especially the women, may have emerged from the 
campaign disillusioned with the democratic process.  More 
worrisome, the decisions by Jeddah's wealthiest families to 
sit out the election rather than risk defeat in the "one 
voter, one vote" (anti-bloc, divide-and-conquer) system 
instituted by Commerce Minister Alireza for this election, 
opened the field for well-organized Islamists and ambitious 
individuals willing to play political hardball to take over 
an institution that has served as a beacon for progress in 
Saudi Arabia and alternative power center. End comment. 
QUINN