Former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected as President
Singapore: Singapore-born Indian-origin economist Tharman Shanmugaratnam won the presidential election on Friday. He defeated two rivals of Chinese origin in his first presidential election since 2011. Sanmugaratnam (66), who was Singapore’s deputy prime minister from 2011 to 2019, got 70.4 percent of the vote while his rival N. Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian received 15.7 percent and 13.8 percent of the vote respectively. The spokesperson of Election Commission gave this information.
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The Prime Minister congratulated Shanmugaratnam
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Shanmugaratnam on winning the presidential election. He said, “Singaporeans have elected Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam as our next President by a decisive margin. As the head of the nation, he will represent us at home and abroad.”
Earlier, among his patrons at the Taman Jurong Food Centre, Shanmugaratnam said he was “really grateful for the strong support” he received from Singaporeans. He said, “I am overwhelmed by this vote – this vote is not just for me, it is a vote for the future of Singapore, a future of optimism and unity. My campaign was focused on optimism and unity and believe that this is what Singaporeans want.”
Channel News Asia quoted Shanmugaratnam as saying, “I will respect the trust Singaporeans have placed in me, and I will also respect all Singaporeans, including those who did not vote for me.”
Former Chief Investment Officer of Singapore Government Investment Corp (GIC) N. Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian, former head of income at the country’s state-owned insurance group NTUC, also tried their luck. Outgoing President Halima Yaqoob’s six-year term ends on September 13.
She is the eighth President of the country and the first woman to hold this position. The 2017 presidential election in Singapore was a reserved election in which only members of the Malay community were allowed to contest. Since there was no other candidate during that time, Halima was nominated as the president.
This was Singapore’s first presidential election since 2011. Shanmugaratnam formally launched his presidential campaign last month with a pledge to keep the country’s culture “shining” to the world.
Shanmugaratnam, who entered politics in 2001, has held public sector and ministerial positions with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) for more than two decades. The first presidential election in Singapore was held on 28 August 1993.
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