Halimah only candidate to make the cut, on track for walkover victory

Singapore

THERE will be no Polling Day for this month's reserved presidential election after all, as Singapore's next head of state will, in all likelihood, win the race via a walkover.

History will be made on Wednesday - Nomination Day - when former Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob turns up at the People's Association headquarters on King George's Avenue to submit her nomination papers.

The 63-year-old veteran politician and unionist is the only person to receive the two important documents - the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) and the Community Certificate - needed to confirm her candidacy that day.

On Monday evening, the Elections Department (ELD) announced that the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) had decided to issue just one COE for the election.

This effectively rules out any hope of a contest, meaning that more than 2.5 million citizens will not have to cast their votes on Polling Day, which had been scheduled for Sept 23.

Madam Halimah's two would-be opponents - Second Chance Properties chief executive officer Salleh Marican and Bourbon Offshore Asia-Pacific chairman Farid Khan Kaim Khan - expressed their disappointment that the PEC did not qualify them.

Five people had applied for the COE and the Community Certificate, with three of them declaring themselves to be from the Malay community.

Madam Halimah, the only one of the three to automatically qualify for the position for having held office for at least three years as Speaker, confirmed to reporters that she had been issued both certificates.

Assuming her nomination goes through without a hitch, the Returning Officer Ng Wai Choong will declare her the winner of the election on Wednesday afternoon, making her Singapore's eighth President and the first woman to hold the highest office in the land.

She will be sworn in at the Istana on Thursday and begin her six-year term. Her predecessor, Tony Tan Keng Yam, ended his single term on Aug 31. The chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisors, J Y Pillay, is serving as Acting President until a new President is elected.

When asked about the possible negative perception from the public surrounding a walkover result, Madam Halimah would only say that she promised to perform to the best of her ability to serve all Singaporeans.

"That doesn't change whether there's an election or no election. My passion and commitment to serve the people of Singapore remain the same," she told reporters outside the ELD's office along Prinsep Link.

For now, her focus turns to preparing for Nomination Day and ensuring her papers are properly submitted. She intends to hold a press conference after the nominations have closed and she is declared the President-elect.

Both Mr Salleh, 67, and Mr Farid, 61, confirmed that they were ruled out of the race as neither met the revised criteria for private sector candidates of having helmed a company with at least S$500 million in shareholders' equity, on average, for the most recent three years.

Second Chance, Mr Salleh's investment holdings and retail firm that became the first Malay-owned company to be listed on the Singapore Exchange, had equity of about S$258 million on average for its last three financial years.

He noted that the PEC had informed him that it was satisfied that he held the most senior executive office in Second Chance and was principally responsible for managing and conducting its business and operations, but that the company's equity was "considerably below" the requisite minimum of S$500 million.

Mr Farid, whose company is the Asia-Pacific subsidiary of a French multinational marine company, was similarly disqualified because he did not meet the S$500 million threshold.

The ELD said in its press release that it had notified all the individuals of the outcome of their applications, and also informed those who were rejected why they did not get the COE.

The PEC and the ELD will not, in the first instance, publish the names of the unsuccessful applicants or the reasons given to them.

This follows the Constitutional Commission's recommendation that unsuccessful applicants should not be disclosed to the public. This was to reduce the prospect of potential applicants being dissuaded from stepping forward to contest the election.

However, unsuccessful applicants are free to publish the reasons given to them, the department added.

This year's presidential election is the first to be reserved for those from the Malay community, following landmark changes made to the Constitution to ensure that those from a minority race can be President from time to time.

The last time Singapore had a Malay President was when Yusof Ishak held the post; he was the country's first head of state from its independence in 1965 until his death, while still in office, in 1970.

For more stories on the Presidential Election, go to bt.sg/pe2017.