Singapore Incumbent President gets sole Certificate of Eligibility

Nothing happening here, please keep moving along, nothing to see here, nothing happening here, no change, everything is still the same, move along now please...

From the Peoples Daily

The incumbent President S. R. Nathan got the only Certificate of Eligibility issued by the Presidential Elections Committee, said the Committee in a statement on Saturday.

"He has all the credentials for the office of the President and is well regarded and respected for his public service. The Committee considered Mr. Nathan as a man of integrity, good character and reputation," the statement read.

The Committee deemed that the other three applicants, Andrew Kuan, Ooi Boon Ewe and Ramachandran Govindasamy Naidu, "could not have the experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to effectively discharge the duties and responsibilities of the office of the President" according to their career history.

The decision made Nathan the only eligible candidate in the third presidential election in the city state since the Constitution was amended to provide for a President elected by the people in 1992.

It is expected that Nathan, who became Singapore's second Elected President in 1999 without any contestant, will win a second six-year term in office on the Nomination Day on Aug. 17.

A related article from Channel News Asia titled "Many Singaporeans welcome Presidential Elections Committee's decision " By Wong Siew Ying/May Wong writes the following joke of an attempt at a journalistic piece. Three anonymous people are happy with the decision, so the entire population of 4 million are obviously happy. Marvellous work, truely outstanding piece of journalism.

I have one question for Wong Siew Ying/May Wong, how the hell do you sleep at night?

Said one Singaporean, "He tries to participate in all activities organised by the grassroots; he tries to be close to the people."

Another said, "He interacts with the people, he comes down to the people's level. I think that is important for a leadership role."

Said a third person, "I am pretty happy with his performance as a president. Before, he was an ambassador for Singapore to Americans; I thought he did a good job."

Human Rights