SINGAPOREANS will soon be getting a new president. 

Incumbent President Halimah Yacob announced late last month that she will not be seeking a second term at the next presidential election, which has to be called by Sep 13 – before her current term ends. 

With Singaporeans due at the polls soon, The Business Times looks at how the whole election process will look like. 

Picking up forms and applying for certification

For presidential hopefuls, the first step will be to pick up forms from the Elections Department (ELD) – either in person from ELD’s office or through ELD’s website. 

Those hoping to run in the election need to apply for two certificates: a certificate of eligibility and a community certificate. 

A certificate of eligibility is issued to those who meet several criteria, including public- or private-sector service requirements. 

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The public-sector service requirement includes having held office as a minister, chief justice, speaker of parliament, attorney-general, chairman of the Public Service Commission, auditor-general, accountant-general, or permanent secretary for at least three years. 

Under private-sector service requirements, a person needs to have served as chief executive of a company with average shareholders’ equity at or exceeding S$500 million for at least three years. 

Minister Chan Chun Sing told Parliament in May that about 50 public-sector positions meet the requirements, while more than 1,200 companies have shareholder equity at or above the threshold. 

While the community certificate is not pertinent in the upcoming election, candidates still need to apply for one. A community declaration is needed to determine when the next reserved election will be held. 

The forms were often made available around three months before the incumbent president’s term expired in past elections. 

PM issues Writ of Election 

Next, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will issue the Writ of Election. Once issued, the ELD will announce details about the date, time and place of Nomination Day and when Polling Day will be. 

Nomination Day

Aspiring candidates will be informed before Nomination Day whether they qualify. 

On Nomination Day, the candidates must present their nomination papers and certificates to the returning officer at the nomination centre between 11 am and noon. 

If only one candidate is successfully nominated, as was the case in 2017, the returning officer will declare the nominated candidate president. 

Campaigning

If multiple candidates are nominated and there is a contest, the campaigning phase of the election kicks off immediately after the conclusion of the nomination proceedings and will last till Cooling-off Day. 

The eve of polling day, when citizens will head to the polls, is Cooling-off Day. There is a prohibition against election campaigning during the 24-hour period – to give voters time to reflect before they cast their votes. 

Polling Day

Eligible voters will cast their votes between 8 am and 8 pm on Polling Day – after which ballots will be counted. The returning officer will announce the outcome of the polls after the ballots are counted. 

While postal ballots and ballots cast at overseas polling stations will be counted after polling day, the returning officer will declare the candidate who received the highest number of votes, unless the total number of overseas votes is larger than the difference between the number of local votes cast for the top two candidates.