JEDDAH — Women candidates for Jeddah's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Board membership are utilizing social networking websites to promote their campaigns, Al-Madinah daily reported. Faten Bundugji, president of TLC Management Consulting and Development, said she utilized Facebook, micro-blogging site Twitter, photo-sharing site Instagram and video-sharing site YouTube in her promotional campaign. She also conducted a number of meetings with businessmen. “These sites have become very important for candidates, especially since regulations do not allow for paid promotions. This is a good step as some candidates may have enough financial resources to promote their campaigns, while others may not,” she said. Candidate Sarah Al-Ayed, general manager of Abjadyat for Communications, said she has to choose the audience she wants to reach through social networking sites. “I also utilize traditional promotional means, such as brochures and meetings with the targeted audience. Each vote is a vote of confidence and the audience needs to know who they are voting for and that their candidate will indeed realize his or her promises,” she explained. Other female candidates in the fray Ranyah Salamah, Areej Alwan, Dalya Al-Shareef and Maymoonah Balfaqeeh. Commenting on the campaign, Abdulrahman Al-Attas said, “The public interest is everyone's goal, men or women.” Mazen Batterjee, Abdullah Bin Mahfouz, Abdulrahman Al-Attas, Saeed Bin Zagr, Dr. Yaser Tarrad, Fayez Al-Harbi and Husain Al-Meshait are among prominent businessmen contesting the elections.
