Voteless victory of Singapore’s first female president stirs anger
The tightly controlled and affluent Southeast Asia city-state disqualified all other candidates, opening the way for the first Muslim Malay minority representative to win
Singapore — Singapore got its first female president on Wednesday, but the milestone was overshadowed by criticism that her selection was undemocratic after she was handed the job without a vote. Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the Muslim Malay minority, did not have to face an election for the largely ceremonial post after authorities decided her rivals did not meet eligibility criteria. It was not the first time in the affluent city-state — which is tightly controlled and has been ruled by the same party for decades — that the government has disqualified presidential candidates, making an election unnecessary. But there was already unease about the process as it was the first time that the presidency had been reserved for a particular race, in this case the Malay community. The decision to hand her the job without an election added to the anger. Social media was abuzz with criticism as Halimah was formally announced as president-elect, with Facebook user Pat Eng...
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