3-cornered fight: Tharman, Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian issued eligibility certs

Three presidential hopefuls have received their certificates of eligibility to run in the upcoming election, said the Elections Department (ELD) on Friday (Aug 18) in a press release.

The Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) has awarded a Certificate of Eligibility to former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, former GIC Chief Investment Officer Ng Kok Song and former Chief Executive Officer of NTUC Income Tan Kin Lian. 

In its press release, the PEC said that it is satisfied that all three men are of integrity, good character and reputation. 

Tharman, 66, applied under Article 19(3)(a) of the Constitution, and has met the public service sector requirement under Article 19(3)(a), having held office for a period of three or more years as Minister. 

Ng, 75, applied under Article 19(3)(c) of the Constitution, using his experience as group chief investment officer of GIC. 

The PEC noted that he "has experience and ability that is comparable to the experience and ability of a person who satisfies Article 19(3)(b) of the Constitution, given the nature of his office and performance in the office. 

Tan, 75, applied under Article 19(4)(b) of the Constitution, using his experience as chief executive officer of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative. 

PEC said that Tan has the "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 and who satisfies Article 19(4)(a) of the Constitution in relation to such service". 

The department has notified all three individuals of the outcome of their applications. 

Entrepreneur George Goh, 63, did not qualify to contest the election.

ELD added that unsuccessful applicants have also been notified of the outcome of their applications.

It said it won't release the names of unsuccessful applicants, in light of concerns that potential applicants may be dissuaded from stepping forward to contest future elections for fear of embarrassment. 

Unsuccessful applicants are allowed to share the reasons why they did not qualify. 

In a separate statement, ELD said that it had issued five Chinese community certificates, and one Indian or other minority community certificate.

It had received 16 community declarations and rejected 10 of them.

claudiatan@asiaone.com