Applications
for Presidential Election to open Jun 1
SINGAPORE: Applications for the 2017 Presidential Election
certificates will open on Thursday (Jun 1), the Elections
Department (ELD) announced on Wednesday.
They will close five days after the writ of election is issued
in August, ahead of the elections in September.
Application forms can be obtained from the ELD website and
office from Thursday.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome before Nomination
Day. Incumbent President Tony Tan Keng Yam will complete his term
of office on Aug 31. In the interim period from Sep 1 to when the
new President takes office, an acting President can perform the
role of the President under the law. Application forms of
candidates who are successfully nominated will be made public after
the close of nomination proceedings, in line with recommendations
of the Constitutional Commission.
APPLICATION FOR MALAY COMMUNITY CERTIFICATE
NEEDED
As this year's Presidential Election is reserved for Malay
candidates, prospective candidates must apply to the Community
Committee for a Malay community certificate. The Malay community
sub-committee, chaired by former Nominated Member of Parliament
Imram Mohamed, will then assess the application.
Members of the sub-committee are Madam Fatimah Azimullah,
advisor to Singapore Muslim Women's Association, Mr Mohammad Alami
Musa, president of MUIS Council (Islamic Religious Council of
Singapore), Mr Yatiman Yusof, former senior parliamentary secretary
and Mr Zulkifli Baharudin, executive chairman of Indo-Trans
Corporation, a logistics and supply chain company across
Indo-china.
AMENDMENTS TO SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
Amendments to subsidiary legislation will be made following
amendments to the Constitution in November 2016 and the
Presidential Elections Act in February this year. These come into
effect on Thursday.
Under the amendments, in deciding whether a potential
presidential candidate belongs to the Malay community, the
sub-committee may interview him, ask him to provide more
information and consult any person. The decision of the
sub-committee will be final, ELD said on Wednesday.
Other legislative amendments include the revision of the
nomination paper to include a statutory declaration that
prospective candidates have read the explanatory material of the
President and understand the role of the President under the
Constitution.
"This is so that candidates will not be drawn to making
statements or promises which exceed the constitutionally prescribed
role of the President," ELD said in a news release.
Under the changes, applicants will have to provide their public
or private sector service experience in the certificate of
eligibility application form.
In addition, there will be a new form for candidates to
voluntarily undertake that they will campaign for election as
President in a manner that is "dignified, decorous and consistent
with the President's position as the Head of State and the symbol
of national unity".
Signed undertakings will be put up on the notice board together
with the nomination paper on Nomination Day, according to
ELD.
CHANGES TO IMPROVE ELECTION PROCESS
The ELD said there would be three amendments to improve the
Presidential Election process.
First, the overseas elector registration form will be revised to
remove the need for applicants to fill in the periods they lived in
Singapore in the three years before the cut-off date of the
registers of electors. However, they will still need to declare
that they meet the minimum residency period.
Second, there will be a new ballot paper format with clearly
demarcated areas for voters to mark an "X" for their choices of
candidate. Only markings made within these areas will be considered
as valid votes.
Third, the prohibition zone for the display of posters and
banners has been reduced in radius from 200m to 50m to allow for
wider areas for the "legitimate display" of posters and banners by
candidates, ELD said.
Source: CNA/mz/ja
