Next Singapore election for Malay candidates

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The Prime Minister's Office in Singapore said on Monday that it will hold the country's eighth presidential election on September 23 if more than one candidate qualifies to run for the position.

The winner will be the second Malay president in Singapore's history, in the first election reserved only for Malay candidates.

If there is only one candidate on September 13 nomination day, that person will automatically become president.

If more than one enters the race, polling day will be on September 23, the Elections Department said.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. /Reuters Photo

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong previously said that the nation has long been without a Malay president since Yusof bin Ishak, the country's first president, who was in power from 1965 to 1970.

Parliament said that if no minority candidates are voted to the post for a significant amount of time, ethnic groups tend to feel insecure.

Singapore's President Tony Tan Keng Yam (R) shakes hands with Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after a welcoming ceremony at the Istana presidential palace in Singapore on June 2, 2017. /AFP Photo

Since the country was founded, Singapore has had seven presidents, with ethnic Chinese Tony Tan Keng Yam currently holding the post.

The parliament passed a constitutional amendment last November to improve the president voting mechanism to ensure persons from a particular community have equal opportunities to become president.

(From left) Presidential hopefuls Salleh Marican, Halimah Yacob and Farid Khan. /Photo by The Straits Times

Former Speaker of the Parliament, Halimah Yacob, founder and CEO of Second Chance Properties Ltd, Mohamed Salleh Marican and Farid Khan, the chairman of marine sector company Bourbon Offshore Asia have submitted applications to the Elections Department for next month's election.

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