A day after unveiling her slogan and campaign team, former Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob yesterday became the last of the three known presidential hopefuls to submit the forms for next month's election.
Flanked by five members of her team, the 63-year-old turned up at the Elections Department at 10.45am to hand in her applications for a Certificate of Eligibility and a Community Certificate.
"I hope to receive a favourable response," she told reporters, adding: "My goal, my objective, is to serve Singapore and Singaporeans with all my heart and with all my passion. I will just wait for the outcome from the Elections Department."
Her entourage yesterday included principal election agent Lawrence Leow, executive chairman and chief executive of Crescendas Group; seconder Mohd Ali Mahmood, CEO of the Singapore Muslim Women's Association; and election agents Bob Shaw, Florina Oo and Mohamed Irshad.
Madam Halimah said she will disclose more details of her campaign plans later on.
New campaign rules have been introduced for the election, to ensure that candidates act with decorum and dignity, in keeping with the office of the president. For example, rallies, which by their nature may be divisive, are discouraged.
"It's a very timely reminder because this is an election for a very respected position, so we have to conduct ourselves properly," said Madam Halimah.
The coming election is the first to be reserved for Malay candidates following changes to the law to ensure that the highest office is held by members of the main races from time to time.
After the Writ of Election was issued on Monday, Madam Halimah held a press conference on Tuesday, where she launched her campaign slogan, "Do Good Do Together", and introduced key members of her team.
Aspiring candidates have until next Monday to submit their forms, and the six-member Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) has until Sept 12, the eve of Nomination Day, to decide who qualifies to run.
Madam Halimah is the only hopeful to automatically qualify so far, having served as Speaker of Parliament for more than three years.
Second Chance Properties chief executive Salleh Marican, 67, and Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific chairman Farid Khan, 62, fall short of the requirement for private-sector candidates to have run a company with at least $500 million in shareholder equity for the most recent three years. However, the PEC has the discretion to consider whether they can stand if it is satisfied that they have comparable experience and ability to someone who has run such a firm.
If only one candidate qualifies, he or she will be declared president on Nomination Day on Sept 13.
If there is a contest, voters will head to the polls on Sept 23.
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Madam Halimah introduces her campaign team. str.sg/4HQd
