Three candidates were nominated on Tuesday to contest in Singapore’s first contested presidential election in more than a decade next week, officials said.
While the role is largely ceremonial, there are strict requirements for the position, officially overseeing the city-state’s financial reserves and holding the power to veto certain measures and approve anti-corruption investigations.
Incumbent President Halimah Yacob who ran for office in 2017 will soon end her six-year term.
Election officials announced the final list of candidates for the September 1 vote after the formal nomination process on Tuesday (22/8).
Former senior minister, deputy prime minister and central bank chief Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, is seen as a frontrunner.
Voters at a polling station during the Singapore general election, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in Singapore, July 10, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su)
He resigned from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) ahead of his candidacy for the nonpartisan position.
Another qualified candidate is Ng Kok Song, 75, who previously served as chief investment officer at GIC, Singapore’s State Reserve Management Agency.
The third candidate is businessman Tan Kin Lian, 75, former chief executive of local insurance giant NTUC Income, who previously lost the 2011 presidential election.
Singapore requires presidential candidates to serve as either a senior civil servant or chief executive of a company with shareholder equity of at least 500 million Singapore dollars ($370 million).
The city-state’s government is run by the prime minister, currently Lee Hsien Loong, while the president serves as head of state and cannot belong to a political party.
The president can veto the appointment of key public officials and authorize corruption investigations even if the prime minister refuses to do so, although this rarely happens in practice.
Perhaps most importantly, the president also serves as the custodian of Singapore’s reserves, which can only be used in exceptional circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2009 global financial crisis.
The government did not disclose the size of its reserves to protect national interests and prevent speculative attacks on the Singapore dollar.
“This is sufficient for most circumstances. Enough to give us substantial support in the budget each year,” Prime Minister Lee said in a recent interview when asked about the size of the reserves. (ab/uh)
