The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) election witnessed Tuesday an unprecedented 2,300 voters, with a further 800 on Wednesday morning, and numbers expected to exceed 5,000 by Wednesday evening. Sources close to the organizing committee said the manual verification of votes was delaying the announcement of results, which has been delayed till Thursday morning. Independents were trying to make their presence felt and attract voters with a range of promises, while blocs were networking hard and promising increased coordination to facilitate procedures and reduce bureaucracy. The competition continued right up to polling booths with offers of refreshments from various camps. Unofficial promises – denied by many nominees, who outwardly laid emphasis on impartiality and a lack of violations – included flight tickets and accommodation in Arab capitals. Voter Badr Al-Onizi said he gave his vote to an independent candidate committed to changing the RCCI's dealing with small busniess funding. Television actor Yousif Al-Jarrah was in attendance on the second day of the election, as a representative of Saudi actors. He sat in the camp of candidate Khaled Al-Shobaili – the camp displaying the greatest interaction with voters –and talked about his program. Another actor, Khaled Al-Malki, attended the first day of the elections and voted for Majid Abdulmohsin Al-Hukair – Okaz/SG __
