Workers' Party not endorsing any candidate in presidential election

SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) on Wednesday (Aug 30) said it does not endorse any candidate in Singapore's upcoming presidential polls, noting that it has "consistently voiced" objection to and called for the abolishment of the elected presidency.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the opposition party said it believes the current qualifying criteria for presidential candidates is "skewed towards People's Action Party (PAP) candidates".

The elected presidency in its current form "undermines parliamentary democracy", it added.

"It also serves as an unnecessary source of gridlock - one that could potentially cripple a non-PAP government within its first term - and is an alternative power centre that could lead to political impasses," WP said.The party said it has been its position for over three decades that Singapore should return to a ceremonial presidency and do away with an elected one.

This is a position it has also set out in parliamentary debates over the years, it added.

WP also said it would not call upon its members or volunteers to assist any presidential candidates in any official capacity.

Singaporeans will head to the polls on Friday to vote for the country's ninth president.

Three have qualified as presidential candidates: Former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song, former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Kin Lian and former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam

In its 2020 party manifesto, WP said the president should be appointed by parliament, and should not be tasked to safeguard the past reserves and the integrity of the public service.

"Instead, a separate senate should be established and directly elected by the people to exercise all the discretionary powers currently vested in the elected president," WP suggested. "Parliament should be able to overturn any Senate veto with a three-quarters majority."

The party also made similar objections in a 2016 submission to a Constitutional Commission on the Elected Presidency, adding that parliament would be a "sufficient safeguard on reserves".

OTHER OPPOSITION ENDORSEMENT

Several opposition party leaders have in recent days aired their views on the presidential candidates.

Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, said that he found himself "wavering" in his support of Mr Tan's candidacy, after hearing his views on some issues over the past week.

But Dr Chee said Mr Tan was still "a good man", and spelled out his reason for advocating for him: "All of Mr Tan’s transgressions pale in comparison to the damage that Mr Tharman’s (former) party has done to democracy in Singapore and, more importantly, the harm it will continue to inflict on our nation’s future development.

"We have in Tan Kin Lian who, for all his foibles, carries with him the hope that, if elected, we can start to pry open, one finger at a time, the PAP’s suffocating grip on our country and start the arduous but exciting process of building democracy for our nation," he added.

The Progress Singapore Party meanwhile is not endorsing any of the candidates, though it noted that individuals were free to support any of the three in their personal capacity.

The party's founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock has in his personal capacity endorsed Mr Tan Kin Lian, saying they share a "common vision" on the need for an independent candidate.

Other opposition politicians have also voiced their support for Mr Tan Kin Lian, including Peoples’ Voice leader Lim Tean - who is Mr Tan's seconder - and People's Power Party chief Goh Meng Seng.

Mr Goh told CNA on Nomination Day that he was helping Mr Tan with "campaign logistics", and described him as "the only one with the quality, integrity and honesty to be president".