Singapore is about to have its first female president

Singapore is about to have its first female president. Ms. Halimah Yacob, former speaker of Singapore's parliament, is the only candidate eligible to run in the upcoming presidential election in this island nation.

Ms. Halimah Yacob. Photo: Today.

Singapore is set to have its first female president in history, after the Election Commission issued a certificate of eligibility to run for president to Hilamah Yacob on September 11, Channel News Asia reported.

"I promise to do my best to serve the people of Singapore. This will not change whether there is an election or not," said Ms Yacob.

Ms. Yacob will officially become the President of Singapore on September 13. Previously, she held many positions including Speaker of the Singapore Parliament and Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.

Two candidates who had declared their candidacy were disqualified: businessman Mohamed Salleh Marican and former chairman of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific Farid Khan. Under Singapore law, to be eligible to run for president, a private-sector candidate must run a public company with a minimum capital of S$500 million ($368 million).

This year's Singapore presidential election is open to candidates from the Malay community. Ms. Yacob will be the second Malay president in Singapore's history after 47 years./.

According to VNE