The President

The President is the Head of State and holds office for a term of 6 years.

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 our nation's past reserves and the integrity of our public service.

The first Presidential Election was held on 28 August 1993.

Read more on the Role of the President

Full explanatory material on the role of the President under the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (pdf file: 165 KB)

President as Head of State

Singapore’s system of government is established by the Constitution.

Under the Constitution, the President is the Head of State. The Prime Minister is the Head of Government. The direction and control of the Government rests with the Prime Minister, together with the Cabinet.

As the Head of State, the President is the symbol of national unity. The President presides over important national events, such as the National Day Parade and the Opening of Parliament. He (or she) also exercises custodial powers as conferred by the Constitution.

The President stands above party politics and therefore cannot be a member of a political party.

How the President works with Parliament and the Cabinet

The Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government. It makes and implements policies. The Cabinet is led by the Prime Minister, who must command the confidence of Parliament. The Cabinet as a whole is collectively responsible to Parliament. Parliament, in turn, is responsible for scrutinising and passing legislation. The Cabinet and Parliament are ultimately accountable to the electorate for the laws and policies that they make.

The Constitution requires the President to act on the Cabinet’s advice in exercising his functions, except in specific areas where the Constitution empowers the President to act at his discretion.

The President’s custodial functions

The Constitution confers on the President a number of custodial powers. These powers enable the President to veto certain proposed measures, notwithstanding the advice tendered by the Cabinet. These custodial powers fall into three broad categories.

The first category concerns Singapore’s past reserves (that is, the reserves which were not accumulated during the present term of the Government). The President is empowered to vet and if he so decides to veto measures taken by Parliament or the Government that he considers would draw on past reserves. For example, the President can refuse to assent to a Supply Bill passed by Parliament if in his opinion the Bill would draw on the Government’s past reserves. This also extends to key statutory boards (CPF Board, HDB, MAS and JTC) and key Government companies (Temasek and GIC). The President can disapprove the budgets and transactions of these entities if he considers that they draw on the entities’ past reserves.

The second category concerns the Public Service. The President can veto appointments to key public offices, including the Chief Justice and the Judges of the Supreme Court; the Chief of Defence Force and the Service Chiefs of the Singapore Armed Forces; the Commissioner of Police; the Attorney-General; the Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, and the Chairman and members of the Public, Judicial and Legal Service Commissions. The President can also veto the removal of individuals from these appointments.

The third category serves a protective function. The President can authorise an investigation by the Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau if the Prime Minister refuses to give such authorisation. The President’s concurrence is required for a person to be detained under the Internal Security Act if the ISA advisory board recommends against the detention. The President can also cancel or vary a restraining order made under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act if the Cabinet’s advice was contrary to the recommendation of the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony.

When exercising the first two categories of custodial powers, the President must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers. If the President exercises a veto contrary to the recommendation of the Council, Parliament can vote to overrule the President. A motion to overrule the President must be supported by not less than two-thirds of the total number of MPs (excluding nominated MPs).

The President’s public role

The public role of the President reflects the Constitutional powers and duties of the office.

As the Head of State, the President is the symbol of national unity. The President must be, and be seen to be, politically neutral. The President has no independent political role and must not get involved in political or controversial issues. This way the President stays above the political fray.

Publicly, the President must speak and act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet, especially when expressing views on legislation or Government policy. The exception is matters related to the President’s custodial powers, where the President acts in his discretion, and is naturally entitled to explain to the public how he has exercised, or intends to exercise, these powers.

In private discussions with the Prime Minister, the President can share his advice freely, but these discussions must remain confidential.

What the President can or cannot do

The following table sets out examples of what the President can and cannot do.
What the President can do What the President cannot do
Veto appointments to key statutory boards (CPF Board, HDB, MAS and JTC) and key Government companies (Temasek and GIC) Appoint his own preferred candidates to these key appointments
Veto the Expected Long-Term Real Rate of Return (ELTRROR) proposed annually by the key statutory boards and key Government companies Decide on the investment policies of these investment entities
Veto Supply Bills that draw on the Government’s past reserves Veto Bills that increase tax rates
Deliver the Address at the Opening of Parliament, which is drafted by the Government and sets out the Government’s agenda Express public views on legislation or Government policy without being advised to do so by the Government
Represent Singapore internationally in accordance with the foreign policy and advice of the Government Pursue a different foreign policy from the Government

Legislation governing the conduct of the Presidential election comprises:


Conduct of Election

The Presidential election has to be conducted as follows:

  1. within 6 months after the office of the President becomes vacant prior to the expiration of the term of office of the incumbent; or
  2. not more than 3 months before the date of expiration of the term of office of the incumbent.

The Prime Minister will issue the Writ of Election to the Returning Officer to direct him to hold an election.


Reserved Election

Elections are generally open to prospective candidates from all races. However, to ensure multi-racial representation in the Presidency, an election for the office of the President will be reserved for a certain community (i.e. Chinese, Malay or Indian and other minority communities) if no person belonging to that community has held the office of the President for any of the last 5 terms of office.

An open election will be held if no candidate is successfully nominated at a reserved election. In such an eventuality, the Prime Minister will issue a fresh Writ to direct the Returning Officer to hold an open election or a reserved election for the next eligible community, where applicable.


Writ of Election

The Writ is a public document which specifies:

  1. the date when the nomination of candidates is to be taken (not less than 10 days nor more than one month from date of the Writ); and
  2. the place of nomination.

The Writ will declare if the election is an open or reserved election.


Notice of Election

Once the Writ of Election is issued, the Returning Officer will issue a notice stipulating the date, time and place for the nomination of candidates.

Prospective candidates who wish to contest in the Presidential elections must submit applications to both the PEC and the Community Committee. Where an applicant applies to only one of the two committees, his application to that committee will not be processed.

The deadline for submission of the community declaration and to apply for the Certificate of Eligibility is 5 days after the date of the Writ of Election.


Nomination Day

Prospective candidates are required to submit their nomination papers and certificates to the Returning Officer, in duplicate and in person, at the nomination centre between 11 am and 12 noon, accompanied by their proposer, seconder and at least four assentors.

At the close of the nomination period, where only one candidate stands nominated, the Returning Officer will declare the nominated candidate elected to the office of President.

Where more than one candidate stands nominated, the Returning Officer will adjourn the election to a date where a poll will be taken, i.e. Polling Day. The Returning Officer will allot to each candidate an approved symbol.


Notice of Contested Election

The Returning Officer will then issue the notice of contested elections giving:

  1. the date of the poll (not earlier than the 10th day, and not later than the 56th day after publication of the notice);
  2. the names of candidates, their symbols, proposers and seconders; and
  3. the names and locations of all polling stations.


Campaigning

Candidates can start campaigning after the notice of contested election is issued, up to the start of Cooling-off Day (which is the day before Polling Day).

No candidate is allowed to advertise over television, in newspapers, magazines or periodicals, or in a public place, unless he is authorised to do so by the Returning Officer.

The maximum amount a candidate can spend on election expenses is:

Presidential Elections
$600,000 or 30 cents for each elector in the Registers of Electors, whichever is more


Cooling-off Day

The eve of Polling Day is designated as Cooling-off Day, a day when election campaigning is prohibited. This 24-hour campaign silence period is to give voters some time to reflect rationally on issues raised during the election before going to the polls.

There are some exceptions to the prohibition of campaign activities on Cooling-off Day, which also applies to Polling Day.


Polling Day

On Polling Day, qualified electors can go to their allotted polling stations to cast their votes any time between 8 am and 8 pm. Overseas Singaporeans who are registered as overseas electors can cast their votes at the overseas polling stations allotted to them.

Due to difference in time zones, voting at some overseas polling stations may take place before the poll starts in Singapore. However, all overseas polling stations have to close before the poll ends in Singapore. After an overseas poll is closed, the ballot boxes will be brought back to Singapore for counting and they must reach the Returning Officer not later than within 10 days after Polling Day in Singapore in order for the votes contained in that ballot box to be counted. The Returning Officer has the discretion to extend time by another 7 days for the overseas ballot boxes to reach Singapore if the total number of overseas electors is material to the election outcome and the Returning Officer is satisfied that any of the overseas ballot boxes is not likely to reach Singapore within the initial 10-day period.

After the close of polls in Singapore, the ballot boxes containing the votes cast will be sealed and transported to the respective counting centres.


Sample Count

A sample count is performed at the start of the counting process to get an early indication of the possible electoral outcome for the election. As the election result can be different from the sample count, the public should wait for the Returning Officer's announcement to know the election result.


Counting of Votes

After the count, the Assistant Returning Officer will transmit the results of counting to the Returning Officer at the principal counting place. The Returning Officer will compile the results received from all counting centres in Singapore.

If the overseas votes have no impact on the outcome of the election, the Returning Officer will declare the candidate to whom the greatest number of votes is given to be elected. If the overseas votes have impact on the outcome, the Returning Officer will announce the number of votes cast in Singapore in favour of each candidate and will defer the declaration of the candidate elected until the day the overseas votes are counted. After counting the overseas votes, the final results will be published in the Singapore Government Gazette.


Election Expenses Returns

At the end of the Presidential election, every candidate and the appointed election agent must account for all his election expenses and submit a declaration as well as a return of election expenses to the Returning Officer within 31 days after the day on which the result of the election is published in the Singapore Government Gazette. Thereafter, these election expenses will be opened to members of the public for inspection for a period of six months. More details on the election expenses can be found here.


Destruction of Ballot Papers

After the count, ballot papers and other documents used in an election shall be sealed and retained in safe custody for a period of 6 months, after which they shall be destroyed, unless otherwise directed by order of the President. This is to ensure secrecy of the vote.