Singapore elected former Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as its ninth president Friday (September 1) after gaining 70.4% of the vote.
The remaining percentages were shared by Tharman's two opponents for the top job, former sovereign wealth fund GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song (15.72%) and former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian (13.88%).
According to the Singaporean Elections Department, this year's presidential election was the city-state's first contested one in 12 years, with more than 2.48 million votes cast and over 50,000 rejected votes.
Concessions and Congratulations
Before the official decision, a sample count was released, the first time Singapore has ever done so in an election. The sample count was consistent with the final and official results released later.
With the results out, both Ng and Tan conceded early and congratulated Tharman for winning the election.
Ng said his role of allowing Singaporeans to exercise their right to vote for a president and not have a walkover candidate was enough of an achievement for him. Experts on the Singaporean political system call this concept a "protest vote."
As for Tan, whose election campaign is already his second and has also gained the support of several opposition parties, he expressed disbelief at how baffling the results were but still congratulated Tharman for his win and thanked his supporters for their hard work as he would now heed his family's advice of living a normal life.
Meanwhile, Tharman was greeted by supporters at a food center in his constituency of Taman Jurong, some of them holding pineapples, his signature campaign gimmick. Shouts of "ong lai" (pineapple) were changed to the national motto, "Majulah Singapura" (Onward, Singapore), as they waited to cheer on Tharman.
In a subsequent ambush interview, he said he was "truly humbled" with the initial result of the vote. The president-elect also thanked his opponents for a fair and worthy contest.
After the official announcement, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he called Tharman to congratulate him personally. He also stated his full confidence in the president-elect that he would carry out his duties with distinction.
Tharman would be replacing Halimah Yacob, the island nation's first female president, whose term of office would end on September 13.
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Who is Tharman Shanmugaratnam?
Tharman was born in 1957 and obtained his education at the London School of Economics, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard University.
He was married to Jane Yumiko Ittogi, a Singaporean lawyer of mixed Chinese-Japanese ancestry three years his senior, and they have four children together.
Tharman had long been a member of the People's Action Party (PAP) when he was a member of the Singaporean Parliament. He was a former deputy prime minister under Lee and also held several cabinet portfolios during his time in office.
He resigned both his seat in Parliament and from the party on July 7 this year to contest in the election as an independent candidate, as required by Singaporean law.
