With George Goh out of race, Tan Kin Lian 'very confident' votes from Goh's supporters will go to him

With George Goh out of the presidential race, Tan Kin Lian is confident that he'll be able to secure the votes from those who want an independent president. 

The former NTUC Income chief executive officer, 75, shared this with the media during a press conference at his home on Friday afternoon (Aug 18), hours after announcing he had received his Certificate of Eligibility (COE) for the upcoming Presidential Election. 

Former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, and former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song, 75, also received their COEs on Friday. 

Entrepreneur George Goh, 63, did not qualify for the race. 

Tan told the media: "Now that Mr Goh is no more in the contest, I will be likely to get the majority of the votes of people who want an independent president.

"The votes will not be split. Therefore I'm very confident that this large segment of people will support me." 

He also said that he's working on reaching out to the "middle ground". 

"I am not an opposition candidate, but I get the support of people who are middle ground or leaning towards opposition," he said.

"I don't want to be arrogant, I'm somewhat confident I can win the election and be your next president."

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In a press statement released on Friday, Tan expressed that he was "disappointed" that Goh did not qualify for the election, and wished him all the best in his future endeavours. 

Tan had previously said that he intended to withdraw his name for consideration should all four hopefuls be found eligible. 

When asked about his reason for making that comment, Tan said he expected the presidential election to be a "two or three-way contest" all along. 

"The reason [for me withdrawing] is to give Mr Goh a chance to carry the flag of an independent candidate. But since he doesn't qualify, I will carry that flag and do it with great dedication; to me it's a [form of] service to the country." 

READ ALSO: Tan Kin Lian: If all presidential hopefuls qualify, I will withdraw from election

claudiatan@asiaone.com