SINGAPORE – Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the new head of state for Singapore after winning the presidential race by a decisive margin yesterday.
The former senior minister received 70.4% of the votes cast while former group chief investment officer of GIC Pte Ltd Ng Kok Song took 15.72% and former chief executive officer of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Ltd Tan Kin Lian got 13.88%.
The official results were announced by the Elections Department slightly after midnight. The outcome was not far from the sample count results that were announced earlier around 10.45pm yesterday.
On Facebook, Tharman said he was “truly humbled by the strong endorsement” given by the voters in the nation’s presidential election.
“I believe the vote for me and what I stood for is a vote of confidence in Singapore itself, a vote of optimism in how we can progress together and support each other as Singaporeans.”
He also thanked his fellow candidates who have “put full effort and energy into their campaigns and made this a worthy contest.”
Meanwhile, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Tharman, saying he has every confidence that the new president will carry out his duties with distinction.
“As head of state, he will represent us at home and abroad, and exercise custodial powers, including over the reserves and key appointments,” said Lee in a statement posted on the website of Prime Minister’s Office early today.
The prime minister also thanked all three candidates for putting themselves forward in this presidential election.
A Singaporean statesman and economist, Tharman, 66, served as Singapore’s deputy prime minister between 2011 and 2019, and as senior minister in the cabinet between 2019 and 2023.
His other roles include chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore between 2011 and 2023, and deputy chairman of GIC between 2019 and 2023.
Being a former member of Singapore’s governing People’s Action Party (PAP), he was an MP representing the Taman Jurong division of Jurong GRC between 2001 and 2023.
He made his political debut in the 2001 general election and was re-elected to Parliament four times at subsequent general elections in 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2020.
In July 2023, Tharman stepped down from Parliament and all his positions in the government and resigned as a member of the PAP in order to stand as a candidate in the presidential election.
As at 8pm yesterady, 2,480,760 Singaporeans had cast their votes at the 1,264 polling stations islandwide. Some 50,152 votes were rejected. – Bernama, September 2, 2023
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