SINGAPORE  — Three people have qualified to contest in the upcoming Presidential Election on Sept 1, the Elections Department (ELD) said in a statement on Friday (Aug 18).

Certificates of Eligibility have been issued to Mr Ng Kok Song, former chief investment officer of state sovereign fund GIC, former Cabinet minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian.

Mr George Goh, the entrepreneur who was among the four to have launched their presidential bids, did not receive a certificate.

The eligibility of candidates for the election is determined by a six-member Presidential Elections Committee, which is headed by the Public Service Commission's chairman Lee Tzu Yang and includes two Supreme Court judges.

At the close of applications on Thursday evening, ELD said that six people had submitted applications for the certificate.

The Certificate of Eligibility is one of two documents that potential candidates must apply for if they wish to enter what would be Singapore's first presidential contest in 12 years.

The other document needed is the community declaration, which allows candidates to declare if they are from the Chinese, Malay, Indian or "Other Minority" communities.

A total of 16 applications for the community declaration were received.

NG KOK SONG

In a statement to the media, ELD said that Mr Ng had applied for eligibility under Article 19(3)(c) of the Constitution, also known as the "deliberative" track.

"Based on the information available to the committee, it is satisfied that Mr Ng is a man of integrity, good character and reputation," it said.

To this end, the committee regarded Mr Ng’s office in GIC and his performance in this position, and said that it is comparable to the experience and ability of a person who satisfies the Constitution under Article 19(3)(b). This is also known as the private sector service track.

"The committee is also satisfied that Mr Ng has the experience and ability to effectively carry out the functions and duties of the office of President," it added.

THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM

For Mr Tharman, who applied under the public sector service track, the committee said it was also satisfied that he is a man of "integrity, good character and reputation".

"The committee is also satisfied that Mr Tharman has met the public sector service requirement under Article 19(3)(a), having held office for a period of three or more years as minister." 

Before his resignation from the Government and the ruling People's Action Party recently, Mr Tharman's political career spanned 22 years and he won his Jurong Group Representation Constituency seat in four General Elections.

From May 2019, Mr Tharman was senior minister and was concurrently the coordinating minister for social policies. He also chaired the Monetary Authority of Singapore, a position he had held since 2011.

TAN KIN LIAN

As for Mr Tan, he applied for a Certificate of Eligibility under the private sector service track of the Constitution.

Likewise, the committee said it was satisfied that Mr Tan is a man of integrity, good character and reputation, noting that he was the chief executive officer of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Limited for a period of more than three years.

"The committee is satisfied, having regard to the nature of Mr Tan’s office in NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Limited, the size and complexity of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Limited and Mr Tan’s performance in the office, that Mr Tan has experience and ability that is comparable to the experience and ability of a person who has served as the chief executive of a typical company with at least S$500 million of shareholders’ equity," ELD said.

It added that he has the experience and ability to effectively carry out the functions and duties of the office of President as well.

REJECTED CANDIDATES

ELD's statement did not name who the rejected candidates are "in light of the concern expressed in the Report of the Constitutional Commission 2016 that potential applicants may be dissuaded from stepping forward to contest the elections for fear of embarrassment". 

It also stated that the committee will not be making public the reasons for rejection, but unsuccessful applicants are not precluded from publishing them.

"The committee may only publish its reasons for rejecting an application in the circumstances set out in regulation 11(3), and must not do so outside of those circumstances," ELD said.

The regulation states that the committee may make known its reasons publicly if the application was rejected because it was not made according to the law, or if any applicants published any part of the reasons given.

It may also do so if it is, in its opinion, necessary to respond to any public allegation made against the committee, according to the statutes published online.