Saturday, August 22, 2015

Elected President - when will be the next election?

Mr. Tan
When will be the next Presidential Election?
Do you plan to contest again?

REPLY
The next Presidential Election is due in 2017. The President holds office for a term of 6 years. The last election was in August 2011.

The PAP government will not change the constitution prior to the general election. They want the current president to exercise his powers in case the general election produces a new government.

After the general election, I expect the constitution to be changed to reduce the power of the elected president.  Perhaps they will revert to a ceremonial head of state, which was the situation in the past.

The current arrangement is impractical. The government keeps bypassing the president on key issues, such as the loan to the International Monetary Fund.

Mr. Kenneth Jeyaretnam had to take a case to the High Court to argue that the government is acting against the constitution. This is embarrassing for the government and also create a headache for the court.

I suspect that there will be no more election for the elected President. Whatever the outcome, I do not intend to contest the next Presidential Election. Once is enough.

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