2023 Singaporean presidential election

The Singaporean presidential election of 2023 was held to elect the next President of Singapore.

2023 Singapore presidential election
President before election

Halimah Yacob

 Elected President

TBD

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Following amendments to the Constitution of Singapore, the 2023 presidential election will be open to candidates of any racial group. The 2017 Singaporean presidential election was the first to be reserved for a particular racial group under a hiatus-triggered model,[1] and was restricted to candidates from the minority Malay community, who had not held the presidential office since 1970.[2][3]

Background
Main article: President of Singapore

The President is the head of state of Singapore. Following the Westminster system, the position is largely ceremonial, but enjoys several reserve powers including withholding presidential assent on supply bills and changing or revoking civil service appointments.[4][5] The current system of holding elections for the Presidency began with the 1993 election, with the election of Ong Teng Cheong. Before then, the President was selected by Parliament.[6]

There are strict requirements for prospective presidential election candidates, and whether a candidate meets the qualifications or not is decided by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC), who are given the task of issuing a certificate of eligibility (COE) to prospective candidates.[7]

The Presidency is, by the rules of the Constitution, required to be nonpartisan.[8] However, the incumbent President, Halimah Yacob had ties with the People's Action Party up until her presidential campaign. She was a member of the party's Central Executive Committee, as well as the chair of the party's Seniors Group.[9] She was also an elected PAP Member of Parliament and Speaker of Parliament prior to her resignation in 2017 to run for President.[10][11]

Electoral system

The President is elected by first-past-the-post voting, with the candidate receiving the most votes winning the election.[12]

References
  1. "Elected Presidency: Amendments to Constitution passed in Parliament". Channel NewsAsia. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  2. Yong, Charissa (8 November 2016). "Parliament: 2017 presidential election will be reserved for Malay candidates, says PM Lee". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  3. "Only one Singaporean is fit to be president". The Economist. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  4. Constitution, Arts. 148A and 148D.
  5. Constitution, Art. 22(1).
  6. Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1991 (No. 5 of 1991), in force on 30 November 1991 except for sections 7 and 16 which came into force on 1 February 1991 and s. 3 which was not brought into force and was subsequently repealed by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1996 (No. 41 of 1996).
  7. Zhu, Melissa; Baker, Jalelah Abu (31 May 2017). "Applications for Presidential Election to open Jun 1". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  8. "Constitution, Art. 19(2)(f)". Art. 19(2)(f). A person shall be qualified to be elected as President if he is not a member of any political party on the date of his nomination for election;
  9. "Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob may run for President". Business Times. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2018. To contest the election, she will have to step down as Speaker of Parliament and MP of Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC by Nomination Day, and also resign from the People's Action Party, of which she is a member of the central executive committee and chair of the PAP Seniors Group.
  10. Paddock, Richard C. (12 September 2017). "Singapore Has a New President, No Election Needed". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2018. Ms. Halimah was a member of Parliament and a leader of the People's Action Party before giving up her seat last month to run for president.
  11. Zhu, Melissa (13 September 2017). "Who is Halimah Yacob, Singapore's first female President?". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 23 May 2018. Prior to announcing her intention to run as President last month, Mdm Halimah was serving as both Speaker of Parliament and MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC – both roles she has since relinquished.
  12. Republic of Singapore: Election for President IFES
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