Presidential election: only one certificate of eligibility issued

SINGAPORE'S next presidential election is on track to be declared a walkover, as the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) announced on Monday that it has issued a certificate of eligibility (COE) to only one out of three applicants from the Malay community.

The recipient is widely believed to be former speaker of parliament Halimah Yacob, who was the only one out of the three to automatically qualify.

The other applicants were from the private sector - Second Chance Properties chief Mohamed Salleh Marican, and Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific chairman Farid Khan Kaim Khan.

Five people had applied for the COE and Community Certificate at the close of applications last week. The Elections Department (ELD) confirmed that only one person will be issued with both certificates needed to contest the election.

The ELD said it has notified all five individuals on the outcome of their applications, with the reasons given to the unsuccessful parties as well.

"The PEC and ELD will not, in the first instance, publish the names of the unsuccessful applicants or the reasons given to them. This is to give effect to the recommendation of the Constitutional Commission that unsuccessful applicants should not be disclosed to the public, to reduce the prospect of potential applicants being dissuaded from stepping forward to contest the elections. An unsuccessful applicant is free to publish the reasons given to him or her," said the ELD statement.

For more coverage of the presidential election, go to bt.sg/pe2017