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About 50 public service positions currently fulfil the public sector service criteria for Singaporeans to qualify to be elected as President, said Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing.

Chan, who is also Minister-in-charge of the Public Service, was responding to a written question by Progress Singapore Party's Leong Mun Wai. He questioned the estimated number of Singaporeans qualified to be elected President as of 31 December 2022.

Specifically, Leong requested the numbers of those who fulfil the public sector service requirement and those who meet the private sector requirement, serving as chief executives in government-linked companies (GLCs) and non-GLCs, respectively.

"The Elections Department does not track the number of Singaporeans qualified to be elected as President," Chan said.

Chan shared that there are more than 1,200 companies with an average shareholders' equity at or exceeding S$500 million for the private sector service requirements.

What are the public/private sector service requirements?

To fulfil the public sector service criteria, a person must have held office as a Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker, Attorney-General, Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Auditor-General, Accountant-General or Permanent Secretary for at least three years.

The public sector service requirement can also be fulfilled if the person has served at least three years in a public sector office and the Presidential Elections Committee is satisfied that the person has the required experience and ability to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the office of President.

For the private sector service requirements, the person must have served as a company's chief executive for at least three years recently.

In addition, the company must, on average, have at least S$500 million in shareholders' equity and have made a profit after tax throughout the entire period.

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