http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/163002/1/.htmlLee Foong Ming, Channel NewsAsia
No contest for Presidential Election, only SR Nathan gets eligibility certificate
SINGAPORE : Only President SR Nathan has been given a Certificate of Eligibility to contest Singapore’s Presidential Election; three other applications have been rejected by the Presidential Elections Committee.
This means that come Nomination Day on August 17, President Nathan will be returned unopposed for a second six-year term.
The Presidential Elections Committee, which announced its decision on Saturday, said President Nathan has all the credentials for the office of the President and is well regarded and respected for his public service.
It considers Mr Nathan a man of integrity, good character and reputation.
The Committee also gave its reasons for rejecting the other three applications.
Firstly, Mr Ooi Boon Ewe, a former tutor, had claimed to be the sole proprietor of a realty business.
But the licence for the business had expired at the time of his application for a Certificate of Eligibility.
The second applicant, Mr Ramachandran Govindasamy Naidu, is a retired Senior Store Keeper who was with the Commonwealth Forces from 1946 to 1987.
The Committee said the career history of these two men obviously showed that they did not hold any similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organisation or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector, which is necessary for the office of the Presidency.
As for Mr Andrew Kuan, the former Group Chief Financial Officer of JTC, it was the Committee's assessment that the seniority and responsibility of that position was not comparable to those needed for the office either.
All four applicants for the Certificate of Eligibility have been informed of the Presidential Elections Committee's decision. - CNA /ct