Voters may see a bell, book, pen or magnifying glass, on their ballot papers on polling day on Sept. 1.

The symbols are part of the eight approved by the Returning Officer for use by presidential candidates to represent them on the ballot papers and during their electoral campaign.

They were approved by the Returning Officer and published in the government gazette on Aug. 11, the same day the writ of elections was issued.

Candidates may use their own

According to a document found on the Elections Department (ELD) website, while candidates may pick a symbol from the list of eight, they may also submit a request to the Returning Officer to use their own symbol.

The candidate's own symbol will have to be 400 by 400 pixels in size, in JPEG format, be no more than two megabytes in file size, and come along with a short description in English of not more than five words.

Under section 16 of the Presidential Elections Act 1991, the Returning Officer may allot to candidates an approved symbol or a symbol of their own choosing.

However, a candidate must not be allotted any symbol of "racial or religious significance" or one which "denotes or implies an affiliation with any political party".

The allotment of candidate symbols will be done on nomination day on Aug. 22.

2011 Presidential Election candidate symbols

Singapore's last Presidential election was in 2011, and was contested by four candidates — Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian.

The candidate symbol chosen by Tan Kin Lian back in 2011 featured a hand inside a speech bubble.

He campaigned under the slogan, "Voice of the People".

Tan is expected to contest in this year's election as well, and has received his certificate of eligibility.

Tony Tan, the eventual winner, used the symbol of a pair of spectacles.

Tan Cheng Bock chose a palm tree as his candidate symbol.

Tan Jee Say's candidate symbol was a heart.

Top image via Government Gazette