A total of 125 candidates including 116 Omanis and 9 expatriates are in the fray for the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and the BoD of OCCI branches. The elections are scheduled for November 22.
The OCCI announced the candidates and voters list on Thursday. The list runs up to 295 pages.
There are 27 contestants from Muscat Governorate, while 11 from Dhofar, eight from North Al Sharqiyah, 10 each from South Al Sharqiyah and North Al Batinah, nine from South Al Batinah, six contestants from Al Wusta, eight from Al Dhahirah, six from Al Dakhiliyah, seven from Al Buraimi and eight are seeking the positions from Musandam Governorate.
In addition, there will be six members representing Oman's Public Shareholding Companies and nine foreigners who hold golden visas under the long-term residence status in the category of Foreign Investors Companies.
The voters and candidates are free to raise any objections to the list from Sunday (November 6) till Tuesday (November 8), with the Appeals Committee, according to the Elections Committee, which is supervising the OCCI electoral process for 2022-2026.
Any appeals against the list of candidates can only be submitted by Friday (November 10).
The OCCI Elections Committee has approved the election mechanism for the BoD elections and to all of its branches and opened candidacy for membership with the chamber from September 25 until September 29 via its website.
The prime criteria for the candidacy for membership of the BoD and the Boards of Directors of the branches is to be an Omani, except for the candidates for membership of the board from among the representatives of public shareholding companies listed on Muscat Stock Exchange, and foreign investors who have obtained an investor residency.
The candidate should hold a Bachelor's degree or have practical experience in doing business in the private sector for a period of not less than 10 years, as well as having been a member of the chamber for a period of not less than five years, and his age shall not be less than 30 years, and he shall hold good conduct and reputation.
Additionally, the candidate shouldn't be an employee in one of the units of the state's administrative apparatus and other public legal persons or a paid worker in the private sector in the Sultanate of Oman or abroad, with the exception of the executive heads of public shareholding companies who are candidates for membership of the board.
The elections will be held under the supervision of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Elections Committee, and its sub-committees, provided that five members representing the Governorate of Muscat are to be selected from those who are registered with the chamber in the Governorate of Muscat, and five members representing each branch of the chamber are registered with the chamber.
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