2.27 million S’poreans to vote for next President
About 2.27 million Singaporeans will be able vote at the upcoming Presidential Election (PE) if there is a contest.
According to Channel NewsAsia, the 2,274,773 voters eligible to vote this PE is lesser than the 2.35 million eligible voters in the May 2011 General Election.
Eligible voters who did not vote at last May's election had their names pulled out from the Register of Electors. Since then, about half of the 140,000 eligible voters have had their names restored on the Register of Electors.
Another 5,500 Singaporeans based overseas will also be eligible to vote at nine overseas polling centres.
Nomination Day is on 17 August and if more than one candidate is eligible to run for the Presidency, Singaporeans will cast their votes on 27 August.
Presidential hopefuls will file their application on Nomination Day between 11am and noon at the People's Association HQ in Jalan Besar. Each candidate will give a two-minute speech at the venue.
The Elections Department has stressed that the Presidential Election is different from the General Election as there is no constituency-based voting and the entire nation will be involved.
Each Presidential candidate will be allowed to have one outdoor rally -- with a possible lunchtime rally site -- and the police are finalising the designated sites.
This year's Presidential Election will see six Presidential hopefuls.
They are - former deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan, former Ayer Rajah MP Dr Tan Cheng Bock, former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian, former Singapore Democratic Party member Tan Jee Say, private tutor Ooi Boon Wee, and former JTC chief financial officer Andrew Kuan.
Of the six, Dr Tony Tan, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Kin Lian and Tan Jee Say have submitted their applications for a Certificate of Eligibility, a pre-requisite for all candidates.
Both Ooi and Kuan have collected the forms but have yet to submit their application for the certificate. Interested candidates must submit their applications before 1pm on 6 August.
A three-member Presidential Elections Committee will assess their applications and issue certificates to those deemed to be of integrity, good character and reputation, with the necessary experience for the post of Elected President.
Candidates who are qualified to contest will then have to submit their Nomination Paper consisting of the Certificate of Eligibility, Political Donation Certificate and a S$48,000 election deposit. However, the deposit will be returned if the candidate manages to secure more than one-eighth of the total votes polled.
The Political Donations Certificate is bounded by the Political Donations Act which seeks to prevent foreigners from interfering in Singapore's domestic politics through funding of candidates and political associations.
It also prohibits candidates from accepting donations except from permissible donors, and restricts the receipt of anonymous donations to less than S$5,000 in total per reporting period.
People's Association chief executive director Yam Ah Mee is the Returning Officer (RO) for the Presidential Election. He was also the RO at the recent May 2011 General Election.
