MUSCAT — His Excellency Sheikh Faisal Al Rawas, chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will stand again for a seat on its board after the chamber released a preliminary list of 108 candidates for its November 23 elections. The vote will choose members of the chamber’s national board and its governorate branch boards for the 2026–2030 term.

Al Rawas, who was elected chairman by fellow board members in 2022, is one of 10 candidates in the category for public joint-stock companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange. The same list includes incumbent board member Dr Siham Al Harthy and Mustafa Ahmed Salman, chairman and chief executive of United Securities.

Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish, chairperson of MHD ITICS, is among 15 candidates listed for Muscat governorate. Darwish, Al Harthy, Al Rawas and Salman all won board seats in the 2022 election.

Abdul Latheef Uppala, managing director of Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals, is one of two candidates for the seat representing foreign investors, alongside Ahmed Subhani. Uppala won the seat in 2022, becoming the chamber’s first expatriate investor elected to the board.

The chamber’s 21-member national board comprises five representatives from Muscat, the chairs of its 10 governorate branches, five representatives of listed companies and one foreign investor representative. The incoming board will elect its chairman from among its members by secret ballot at its first meeting, which must take place within seven days of the announcement of final results.

The preliminary lists name 96 candidates across Oman’s 11 governorates. Muscat has the largest field, followed by North Al Sharqiyah with 11 candidates. North Al Batinah and Al Dhahirah have 10 each, and South Al Sharqiyah has nine. Al Buraimi, Al Dakhiliyah and South Al Batinah have eight each, Al Wusta has seven, and Dhofar and Musandam have five each.

Nominations closed on Oct. 20. Ghalib bin Said Al Mamari, undersecretary for commerce and industry and chairman of the election committee, said the vote gives chamber members the opportunity to choose their representatives on both the national and branch boards.