Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has offered himself as a candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election.

This will also mean he will stand down from his government positions including Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore on July 7.

But with a political heavyweight like Mr Tharman running for the presidential election, will it deter others from contesting now?

Dr. Felix Tan, Political Observer, Nanyang Technological University shares his views.