Anyone But Tharman 5
Will Tan Kin Lian’s
COE Be Rejected due to
his Proposer and Seconder
Sounds stupid. What an idiot question!
We are living in a world of full surprises. Why not.
The Presidential Elections Committee has the final say on the issuing of the Certificate of Eligibility. And the committee does not need to give the reason(s).
In Wikipedia, we find the following criticism.
Criticism[edit]
Amount of discretionary power[edit]
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.[3]
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".[4]
Decisions beyond judicial review[edit]
Thio observed that the committee is "not under a legal duty to give reasons for their decision, which is deficient as a process".[4]
Opacity of decisions leading to embarrassment[edit]
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.[3]
Good luck to all the potential hopefuls.
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