Halimah Yacob submits application to stand in Presidential Election
Presidential hopeful Halimah Yacob has submitted her application to run in the 2017 Presidential Election (PE).
The 63-year-old former speaker of parliament is the last of three potential PE candidates to have turned in their forms, which she did at the Elections Department (ELD) on Wednesday (30 August) morning.
Speaking to the media outside the ELD building, Halimah said she hoped to receive a “favourable response” with regard to her application. “As I have said repeatedly, my goal is to serve Singapore and Singaporeans with all my heart and with all my passion,” she said.
This year’s PE has been reserved for Malays and prospective candidates will have to obtain a Malay Community Certificate from the Community Committee in order to be eligible to run. Those from the private sector will also have to be either the chairman or chief executive officer of a company with a paid-up capital of at least $500 million in order to qualify.
Thus far, only two other prospective candidates – Second Chance Properties chief executive Salleh Marican and Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific chairman Farid Khan – have indicated their interest in running for president. Both have already submitted their application documents.
Halimah also reiterated her campaign slogan of “Do Good Do Together”, which she unveiled at a press conference on Tuesday, calling it a call for Singaporeans to come together to “do good collectively” to take the nation to “greater heights”.
Asked whether the slogan had been inspired by the “Do Good, do well, do together” motto she promoted as a Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Halimah said the words used for her PE campaign were meant to “really resonate” with people.
“I think ‘good’ and ‘together’ are really very key words which really resonate with everybody, whatever (their) level and whatever (their) background,” she said.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Tuesday that he had issued the writ of election for this year’s PE. Nomination Day, which is when the eligible PE candidates will be named, is set for 13 September while Polling Day has been scheduled for 23 September, according to a separate ELD announcement.
Related stories:
PE2017 – Look at my credentials, not my past affiliations: Halimah Yacob
Polling Day for Presidential Election set for 23 September 2017
Farid Khan submits application to run in Presidential Election
Presidential hopeful Salleh Marican submits application to Elections Department
Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob says she will run for President
Tan Cheng Bock: ‘Disappointed’ by dismissal of appeal on Presidential Election
