'2023 will be my time,' says Tan Kin Lian after qualifying for Presidential Election
Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian is "very confident" that he will do better in this Presidential Election than in 2011.
Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian holds up his certificate of eligibility for the Presidential Election at his home on Aug 18, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Matthew Mohan)
SINGAPORE: Former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Kin Lian believes "2023 will be my time" after getting a second chance to run for Singapore's presidency.
The 75-year-old is one of three candidates to qualify for the Presidential Election, the Elections Department (ELD) announced on Friday (Aug 18).
Mr Tan qualified under Article 19(4)(a) of the Constitution, or the private sector deliberative track.
Former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song have also qualified as candidates for the election.
Businessman George Goh's application was rejected, although ELD did not identify Mr Goh or give reasons for the rejection.
Sounding emotional after receiving news of his qualification, Mr Tan told CNA that he was "relieved and glad" to qualify.
Speaking to media at his house later, Mr Tan said he was "very confident" that his performance would be different from the 2011 Presidential Election, when he polled the lowest out of four candidates.
"2011 was not my time. 2023 will be my time," he said.
"The (conditions) in 2023 are more favourable to me because many people are struggling with high cost of living, high cost of housing, and also uncertainty of jobs.
"They want to see somebody who can ... change these circumstances. I represent their hope."
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Mr Tan reiterated that he is an "independent" candidate while Mr Tharman and Mr Ng "represent the establishment candidate".
He said he believes voters strongly prefer an "independent" candidate, adding: "I believe that that proportion will probably be more than half, so I stand a very good chance.
"Because I'm reaching out to people who say they want to have an independent president who can be independent of the ruling government and see things from a different perspective."
Mr Tan previously said he would step aside if Mr Goh qualified as he did not want to split the votes of Singaporeans who prefer an "independent" candidate.
On Friday, he said that he had expected a two-way or three-way contest all along.
He said he was "personally disappointed" that Mr Goh did not qualify for the election, but believes the votes from Mr Goh's supporters will come to him instead.
"When Mr Goh is no more in the contest, I will be likely to get (the) majority of those votes of people who want an independent president. The votes will not be split. Therefore I'm very confident that this very large segment will support me."
He added: "My aim is to also reach out to the middle ground. They sometimes vote for the current establishment, sometimes they don't. That middle ground is very important to me."
The eligible candidates will next have to submit their nomination papers on Aug 22. If more than one candidate is nominated, Polling Day will take place on Sep 1.
