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Singapore’s Tharman Shanmugaratnam elected president after landslide victory: ‘vote of optimism’
- Former minister Tharman is elected the city state’s ninth president after winning 70.4 per cent of the vote in a three-way race on Friday
- The result foiled expectations he would be hurt by public dissatisfaction with the ruling PAP over its recent spate of internal scandals
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The former Singapore ruling party stalwart Tharman Shanmugaratnam has won 70.4 per cent of the vote in a crushing victory in the republic’s three-way presidential contest, a result that foiled expectations that he would be hurt by recent political scandals involving his ex-colleagues.
The Elections Department officially declared in favour of the 66-year-old in the early hours of Saturday. Earlier, the other two candidates, Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian, effectively conceded the race.
Ng won 15.72 per cent of valid votes while Tan received 13.88 per cent of the votes. More than 2.48 million votes were cast in Singapore, with 50,152 rejected votes.
Tharman, a 22-year veteran of the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), had faced questions during the campaign over whether the party’s recent political scandals – as well as overall public disquiet over rising inflation – would hurt his chances.
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Tharman said he was humbled by the result. “It’s a vote of optimism for a future in which we can progress together and support each other as Singaporeans,” he said.
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