Re-run vote for ADCCI board candidates

ABU DHABI // Candidates in the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry board election will return in two weeks for a chance of having a say in developing the emirate’s business landscape.

Thursday night’s ballot was postponed until June 26 because of insufficient voter numbers but that has not dampened the enthusiasm of those seeking a seat on the board.

Amer Al Mansouri, chairman of Al Mansouri 3B Group, one of the companies registered with ADCCI, said he was confident of a win.

“This is pride, to be part of a policymaking government where we can get good opportunities to better serve the nation, expanding business avenues nationally and internationally,” Mr Al Mansouri said.

“There is lack of coordination among public and private firms. If I am going to win, I would work on these lines to cement public-private partnership and expand business. I contested individually last time, too, but that was only for gaining experience. This time I am serious.”

Bin Fadhil Group owner Ali Al Mamari has also tried for a spot in past years: “I lost twice but am now confident to win.”

Ahmed Al Yafei, chairman of Abu Dhabi Art Hub, a platform for international and local artists, is taking part in elections for the first time.

The Emirati said being on the board would allow him to promote the local arts scene to the world.

“I am contesting this not for financial gains, but to broaden businesses in the field of art and culture – not only in the country but over the world,” Mr Al Yafei said.

ADCCI rules state that at least a quarter of general assembly members must vote. If the numbers are not reached a second election is held, in which results are valid regardless of the number voting.

Thirteen UAE nationals are elected by Emirati members, two expatriates by foreign members, and six are nominated by the Government.

There are 80,700 companies registered with the chamber.

anwar@thenational.ae

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

While you're here

Chitrabhanu Kadalayil: Singapore election is more than just a family feud over LKY's legacy

Sholto Byrnes: Robert Mugabe and Lee Kuan Yew: two leaders with very different legacies

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: UAE and Singapore can be partners for a world in transition

Nick March: Singapore and UAE are on the move – in airport development

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.