SINGAPORE: More than 2.7 million Singaporeans will today decide who among the three candidates will become the ninth president of the republic.
The contest will be among former group chief investment officer of GIC Pte Ltd Ng Kok Song, former chief executive officer of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Ltd Tan Kin Lian, and former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
The president is the head of state and holds office for a term of six years, according to the website of the Elections Department Singapore (ELD).
The president has two important roles – first, as a symbol and unifier of a diverse and multi-racial Singapore; and second, as a custodian of Singapore’s past reserves and the integrity of its public service.
The first presidential election was held on Aug 28, 1993, it said.
Outgoing president Halimah Yacob has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore since 2017.
In May this year, Halimah, the first female president in Singapore’s history said that she would not seek re-election.
Her term ends on Sept 13.
Polling centres open from 8 am today and close at 8 pm.
A total of 1,264 polling stations are available across the country with about 36, 000 election officials deployed around the island. – BERNAMA
