CAAS chief Han Kok Juan appointed Returning Officer for Singapore elections

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Thian Wen Li

SINGAPORE - Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) Director-General Han Kok Juan will take over the supervision of elections here from April 1.

Mr Han has been appointed as Returning Officer (RO) by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, while Housing and Development Board (HDB) chief executive officer Tan Meng Dui will relinquish the appointment, the Elections Department said on March 28.

The RO is responsible for overseeing the conduct of polls, and works with the thousands of election officials who run polling stations and count ballots during a general or presidential election. He also announces the election results.

Prior to being appointed director-general of CAAS in 2021, Mr Han was Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Transport from 2019. He was also Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Law from 2015 to 2019.

Mr Tan, who became HDB's chief executive officer in 2021, was appointed as RO on Feb 1, 2018 and oversaw the general election in 2020 and the presidential election in 2023.