Halimah Yacob Set To Be Next President After Other Potential Candidates Fail To Qualify
Madam Halimah Yacob looks set to become Singapore’s next President after the two other potential candidates fell short of the qualification criteria.
The Elections Department (ELD) on Monday (Sep 11) said only one Certificate of Eligibility had been issued for the contest.
Shortly after its announcement, presidential hopefuls Mohamed Salleh Marican and Farid Khan confirmed that their application to stand had been turned down.
Mdm Halimah said the ELD issued the certificate of eligibility to her, which “paves the way” for her to take part in the Presidential Election. She still has to submit her nomination papers on Wednesday.
“I can only say that I promise to do the best that I can to serve the people of Singapore and that doesn’t change whether there is an election or no election,” she told reporters gathered at the ELD.
In order to be eligible, private sector applicants like Mr Salleh and Mr Farid had to show that they helmed a company with at least S$500 million in shareholders’ equity, or have comparable experience and ability.
Mr Salleh’s application was rejected as the shareholder equity of the company he helms averaged about S$258 million for its last three financial years, “considerably below” the required S$500 million, the Presidential Elections Committee said in a letter to him that was seen by Channel NewsAsia.