PE2011: President Tan

This is an interesting political year for Singapore.

In May, we experienced a watershed General Election (GE).

Come 27 August 2011, Singaporeans will once again head to the polls and this time we will vote for our 7th president of the republic.

Will the Presidential Election (PE) be any different? Judging by the social media storm that's brewing online, sentiments are at an all time high: the people want to speak up and be heard. Never before has Singapore seen such a keenly contested PE where not two or three but four candidates are racing to win over the hearts and minds of Singaporeans.

Initially, many believed it would be a 3-corner fight between former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan, former MP Dr Tan Cheng Bock and former NTUC Income Chief Tan Kin Lian. But then former Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Opposition Member Tan Jee Say unexpectedly received a Certificate of Eligibility to run the race and joined the fray.

Now, it's a Battle of the Four Tans.

Sure, the votes will be diluted and it's expected that the next President win with less than 50% of the majority and perhaps one or even two candidates may even lose their S$48,000 deposit should they fail to secure 12.5% of the votes.

But that's not deterring any of the four candidates and on Nomination Day, all turned up and successfully filed their papers. Last night all four made their first Presidential Candidate Broadcast over free-to-air radio and television platforms.

Here are the four potential candidates presented in alphabetical order:









It's going to an exciting fight to the finish. Campaigning has started. May the best Tan win.

As for me, I'm voting with my heart.