Singaporeans will not be required to go to the polls to vote for a new president as only one certificate of eligibility has been issued.
This was announced by the Singapore Elections Department (ELD) on 11 September 2017 in a media release.
Former Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob was the only candidate given both the certificate of eligibility from the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) and the Malay community certificate from the Malay Community Sub-Committee. She arrived at the ELD to collect her certificates at about 6pm on the same day.
With Presidential Election 2017 reserved for the Malay community, an individual can only qualify as a candidate if he or she receives both certificates.
Having held the office of Speaker of Parliament for at least three years, Mdm Halimah satisfied the criteria for candidates from the public sector.
"I have met many Singaporeans over the last couple of weeks, and I feel grateful for their support and encouragement. I promise to do the best I can, and this doesn’t change whether or not there is an election. My passion and commitment to serve the people of Singapore remain the same," said Mdm Halimah, who spent 33 years with the Labour Movement.
Despite being the only candidate to qualify, Mdm Halimah still has to submit her nomination papers on 13 September 2017.
Other candidates who received a Malay community certificate were businessman Mohamed Salleh Marican and marine company chairman Farid Khan. However, they were not issued the certificate of eligibility from the PEC.
