The Presidential Election is unlikely to be held before National Day, given the President's role during the NDP. …
The Presidential Election showdown looks set to occur anytime in the last two weeks of August, after the nation's birthday on 9 August and the National Day Rally usually a week after.
The election must be held by 31 August, the date President S R Nathan will step down when his term ends. Mr Nathan, who just turned 87, has decided not to seek a third term in office.
Analysts believe the possibility of having the election before National Day is extremely unlikely, given the President's role during the National Day Parade.
A spokesperson from Istana told Yahoo! Singapore that this year's President's Star Charity on 31 July will not be the the last event Mr Nathan will attend as the President of Singapore.
"(The) President has many other events lined up in August 2011, such as the National Day Parade and Istana Open House," she said.
The open house will be on 7 August to celebrate National Day and 30 August to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa.
Breaking tradition from the past two Presidential Elections which ended in walkovers, the upcoming election has shaped up to be an exciting one with many firsts.
The first contested election since the 1993 election and the first multi-candidate presidential race in the history of Singapore, this is also the first time both parliamentary and presidential elections are being held in the same year, separated by a mere three months.
Said constitutional expert Thio Li-ann, "Singaporeans have never had two elections in a year before, and the recent General Elections had been extraordinary," hence the likelihood for the Government to have a few months' buffer for people to "cool down before having yet another election."
The National University of Singapore law lecturer also told Today in June that the period between National Day and the National Day Rally — usually held one to two weeks later — is unlikely to be chosen because the focus would be on the Rally, traditionally a high point in the political calendar.
To hold the Presidential Election right before National Day would also stretch resources needed for the parade, said Prof Thio.
NUS adjunct law professor Kevin Tan noted that the date of the election might depend on when the Government wants Parliament to be convened.
"The only reason why they would want to call the election earlier would be if they want to summon Parliament earlier, and for it to be presided over by a new President," said Dr Tan, who specialises in constitutional law, among others.
Now that the incumbent President, and also Singapore's longest serving President, has declined to seek re-election, the presidential race will be fought between three one-time members of the ruling PAP.
The presidential hopefuls who are applying for the Certificate of Eligibility are Dr Tan Cheng Bock, former PAP Member of Parliament (MP); Dr Tony Tan, former Deputy Prime Minister; and Tan Kin Lian, former chief executive officer of NTUC Income.
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