RIYADH: Nearly half of the new Saudi Journalists Association board members elected on Sunday were women, a first for the 21-year-old media professionals body. 

All the successful candidates were members of the recently formed “Future” coalition that won by a landslide against competition from independent journalists and other opposition lists. The coalition consists of Editors in Chief, Deputy Editors and senior journalists of the kingdom’s top tier newspapers and media outlets. 

Twenty candidates qualified and ended up competing in the election. Of the 13 winners, six were women: Arab News Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noor Nugali, Thekra Al-Atyawi of the Saudi Broadcast Authority, Sayyidaty Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lama AlShethry, Saudi Ministry of Sports media head Fatima Aloufi, Bushra AlRabia from the Saudi Government Communication Center, and Independent Arabia’s Assistant Editor-in-Chief Mai Alsharif. 

The other seven winners were Independent Arabia Editor Adhwan Alahmari, Arab News Editor in Chief Faisal J. Abbas, Al Arabiya General Manager Mamdouh AlMuhaini, Saudipedia Editor Hamed AlShehri, Asharq AlAwsat deputy editor Zaid bin Kami, Sabq Editor-in-Chief Ali AlHazimi, and Al-Eqtisadiya Editor Mohammed Albishi. All 13 board members will serve a four-year term

After the election the newly elected board met at the association’s headquarters in Riyadh and unanimously elected Adhwan Alahmari as chairman, Faisal J. Abbas as vice-chairman, and Alrabiah as treasurer.

The coalition’s mandate is to enhance the standing of Saudi journalists, lobby for better pay and rights and equip them with the training and tools needed to enhance the level of Saudi journalism. 

The board will present their vision at the next meeting to develop a strategy for their work that reflects the association’s main objectives.

Launched in 2003, the association is an independently run union of media professionals.

The board’s previous chairman, Khalid Al-Malik, is the longstanding editor-in-chief of Al-Jazirah newspaper and considered the dean of Saudi journalists.