Singapore reserves presidential poll next year for ethnic Malay contenders

By Marius Zaharia and Fathin Ungku SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore will restrict its presidential election next year to ethnic Malay candidates, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament on Tuesday, during a debate on proposals to make sure ethnic minorities can become head of state. While Singapore has had presidents from other ethnic groups, all three of its prime ministers have been ethnic Chinese, who form 74 percent of a population of about 5.5 million. The new rules say that if no president is selected from a particular ethnic group for five straight terms, the next term will be reserved for that group.

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