Abu Dhabi-based Companies’ Branches Allowed to Vote at ADCCI Election

Thursday, 29th October 2009

According to the Director-General of the Chamber, Mr. Mohammed Rashed Al Hameli, the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ADCCI)’s Elections-Supervising Committee (ESC) decided to count votes for branches of companies and businesses based in Abu Dhabi.
It has been envisaged by the ESC that such votes should be counted the same way as those of branches of companies registered in Abu Dhabi and belonging to other emirates or as subsidiaries of foreign ones and representative offices that are holders of ADCCI membership. In other words, a company incorporated in Abu Dhabi and having 5 branches in the emirate shall be in possession of 5 votes at the elections; the same does apply to companies from other emirates with branches in Abu Dhabi and registered with the ADCCI, Mr. Al Hameli said, making mention of the ESC’s decision appointing 3 polling stations in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region and thus making it convenient for members of the general meeting by not confining presence to one station.
The voting system is readily easy as nominees’ photos and names appear on a computer screen in order for a voter to click the picture of the one elected by him, then the computer system would automatically print the voter’s card, which includes the names of candidates chosen by the voter. A member would afterwards pull the printed card, signing and depositing the same into the box appointed for the purpose, he explained.
In case of an unfulfilled quorum on the specified day for the election; namely, 7th December 2009, a second meeting shall be convened and shall be valid regardless of the number of attendees. Those who voted will have to re-attend the second round for casting their votes once again since all voting procedures carried out at the first round shall be deemed null and void. The number of persons, whose applications for standing for the ADCCI Board Election were accepted by the ESC, hit 85 ones, including 70 UAE nationals and 15 expatriates, Mr. Al Hameli added, elaborating that the presence of a large number of new faces at the ADCCI elections for this instant year denotes the existence of a vital business sector in Abu Dhabi.
The ESC has also acknowledged the interpretation related to authorization in voting as received by the ADCCI from the Abu Dhabi Executive Council’s Secretariat General.
The ADCCI Elections’ Mechanism and Rules stipulate that: “Posterior to the completion of the voting and counting processes, winners shall be declared by Chairman of the Committee, and the Judge, who is the Chairman of the Elections-Supervising Committee, shall write a procés-verbal in which he should indicate the date and timing of the elections, the number of voters, the names of all candidates and the number of votes captured by each and every one of them. Members who have not won shall be deemed as reserve for board members elected in the same round of elections only. In case of a tie between two or more candidates, the Chairman of the Elections-Supervising Committee shall draw lots to determine the winner out of them. 13 UAE members shall be elected by the UAE members and expatriate ones shall elect 2 expatriate members”.
It is provided for by law that the ADCCI shall be run by the Board of Directors (BoD) which is composed of twenty-one members, that an emiri decree shall be issued appointing six thereof, including two female members, plus fifteen elected members, including two foreign ones to be elected by Chamber expatriate members, as well as that the Board Membership shall be for four years.
The ESC set the candidates’ electoral campaigns’ controls in which it shall be impermissible to use of the official state emblem or symbols in meetings, election advertisements and flyers as well as in all types of writings and drawings used in the election campaign.
No candidate may use his advertising campaign for purposes other than the one allotted thereto; namely, making promotion for both his candidature and election programme.