Riyadh, Nov. 26 (AFP): Saudi women voted today to pick a board for the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the start of elections in which 17 of them are standing as candidates for the first time in the conservative kingdom.

“This is a very important step in the history of the kingdom ... It is an opportunity for women to prove themselves,” Olfat Kabbani, running on a seven-strong all-female list, said by telephone from the Red Sea city.

The 17 women are among a total of 71 candidates vying for 12 elected seats on the board of directors, which will have an additional six members appointed by the minister of trade and industry.

Officials said the voting would continue till Tuesday, with businesswomen voting on the first two days and businessmen casting their ballots on the following days.

Some 21,000 members of the Jeddah chamber, or about half the total membership, are eligible to vote, including up to 2,800 women, officials said.

The vote was rescheduled from late September by trade and industry minister Hashem Yamai specifically to enable women to stand after an elections committee had rejected the nominations of seven women.