From left: Titia van der Mark, COCI Director Jude Houston and Franjesca Bulbaai.
PHILIPSBURG--Franjesca Bulbaai, Titia van der Mark and Tamara Leonard were elected to the board of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) during elections held on Friday, December 6.
With 74 votes in the small business sector, Bulbaai was the biggest overall vote getter in the election, outnumbering the closest candidate by 34 votes. Bulbaai will represent large businesses on the Chamber board along with Titia van der Mark, while Leonard will represent small businesses. The three were elected to the board for a period of three years.
Four candidates contested the elections for the one opening for a representative of the small business sector, while three contested for the two positions to represent the large business sector.
The Chamber said in a press statement that Bulbaai, who contested the election for both the small and large business sectors, received 74 votes in the small business sector election, followed by Leonard with 40 votes, Edsel Gumbs 36 votes, and Chio with 23 votes. COCI said Bulbaai opted to represent the large business sector.
For large businesses, Van der Mark and Bulbaai were elected out of a field of three candidates. Van der Mark secured 31 votes, followed by Bulbaai with 27 votes and Leonard with 11 votes.
The Chamber congratulated the newly elected representatives and thanked all candidates for their participation in the election process.
