The Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) is a six-member council set up by the Government of Singapore to ensure that each candidate running for the office of President of Singapore fulfils the stringent qualifications set out in Article 19 of the Constitution of Singapore.

Composition

The Presidential Elections Committee consists of: There is also a Community Committee, which will assess whether the candidate belongs to the specified ethnic community.

Criticism

Amount of discretionary power

Legal academic Valentine Winslow wrote that the committee has the power to reject anyone who does not have "integrity, good character, and reputation", and that this places too much discretionary power in the hands of a small group of persons, with no guarantee that they are qualified to judge others as being of integrity and good character, or are unbiased, as there is no provision for any independent election commission. Constitutional lawyer Thio Li-ann wrote that the mechanism of selecting qualified candidates "removes the power of choice one step further away from the people, placing in the hands of an unelected group of people the power to decide who is a suitable candidate".

Decisions beyond judicial review

Thio observed that the committee is "not under a legal duty to give reasons for their decision, which is deficient as a process".

Opacity of decisions leading to embarrassment

Winslow suggested that there is an "embarrassment of uncertainty" for a candidate seeking nomination, because they may be rejected for reasons completely unclear to them, and that "men of eminence" will not agree to be nominated if they are likely to be humiliated by rejection.

Election Committees

2005 Presidential Election

The Presidential Elections Committee for the 2005 Singapore presidential election had three members:

2017 Presidential Election

The Presidential Elections Committee for the 2017 presidential election comprises six members. The Community Committee is headed by Timothy James de Souza, a member of the Presidential Council of Minority Rights.

Malay community sub-committee

The Malay community sub-committee, which will issue the Malay Community Certificate to candidates, comprises five members. All five were also on the Malay Community Committee that gave the green light to Malay candidates in Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) in the 2015 general election.

2023 Presidential Election

The Presidential Elections Committee for the 2023 presidential election comprises six members. The Community Committee is headed by Edward D'Silva, a member of the Public Service Commission.