Singapore Declares New Leader After No One Ran For President

63-year-old Halima Yacob has been declared the eighth president of Singapore in what was described as a “walkover” election that saw no other person contend for the position.

Yacob is Singapore’s first Malay president in 47 years and the first woman to occupy the president’s office.

She was the only candidate eligible to stand for the post as she has held key public position as speaker of parliament for three years.

The other two contenders, Salleh Marican and Farid Khan, were both denied eligibility, having fallen short of a constitutional rule that required any candidate from the private sector to have led a company with shareholder equity of at least 500 million Singapore dollars (372 million dollars).

Yacob thanked her supporters, calling it a “a proud moment for Singapore, for multiculturalism and multi-racialism.”

“I am a president for everyone, regardless of race, language, religion or creed,” she said

Yacob is expected to be sworn into office on Thursday.

The president is vested with the responsibility of overseeing the country’s national asset reserves, but does not hold any of the executive powers of the prime minister or members of the cabinet.