Debating Singapore's Elected Presidency

by Assistant Professor Jaclyn Neo & Assistant Professor Swati Jhaveri

This project aims to produce an edited volume examining the office of the elected presidency in Singapore. This volume will be the second major collection of essays that brings together a group of scholars of constitutional law to reflect upon how the unique institution of the elected Presidency has functioned over the years, as well as how recent reforms would impact its functions. It builds upon an earlier volume also published by Routledge titled Managing Political Change in Singapore: The Elected Presidency, edited by Lam Peng Er and Kevin Tan. This proposed volume distinguishes itself from this earlier collection in two ways.

First, it examines how the institution has functioned since it was first introduced in 1991, bearing in mind that many changes have been made to the institution since the first volume was published. Managing Political Change was published in 1997, some 6 years after the office of the presidency was changed from one by appointment to one by election. As the introduction notes, the book was very much focused on the political context for this change and looked at how it was operationalized in the first presidential election in 1993. This volume will consider how this institution has evolved within the broader social and political contexts.

Secondly, and more importantly, this volume will examine how the institution will evolve in the future in light of a major recent reform exercise. A Constitutional Commission was convened early this year (2016) to review specific aspects of the Elected Presidency, namely:

1.	The qualifying process for Presidential candidates, particularly whether the eligibility criteria for such candidates should be updated, and if so how;
2.	The framework governing the exercise of the President's custodial powers, including whether the views of the Council of Presidential Advisers can be given more weight, and if so how; and
3.	Ensuring that minorities have the chance to be periodically elected to Presidential office.

The Commission, headed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, is only the second constitutional commission to be convened to consider amendments to the constitution since Singapore's independence. Almost all the contributors to this volume engaged in the process, presenting submissions to the constitutional commission. The chapters will deliberate upon the changes to the Elected Presidency in light of broader foundational constitutional ideas such as the separation of powers, protection of minorities, and democratic legitimacy. The edited volume will be published by Routledge and is scheduled for release in early 2018.

Conference Programme Schedule