Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a former deputy prime minister of Singapore, was chosen president on Friday. It was the city-state’s first competitive election for the largely ceremonial role in more than ten years.
After a rare flurry of controversies, Singaporeans went to the polls, which were keenly watched as a gauge of support for the ruling party. However, the veteran party stalwart defeated two challengers by more than two-thirds of the vote.
“I believe that it’s a vote of confidence in Singapore. It’s a vote of optimism for a future in which we can progress together and support each other as Singaporeans,” the former finance minister said in a speech before the results were announced.
“I’m humbled by this vote. It is not just a vote for me, it is a vote for Singapore’s future.”
He received 70.4% of the vote and was elected to a six-year term.
After receiving only 15.7% of the vote, his primary opponent Ng Kok Song, a former chief investment officer of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, which oversees the nation’s foreign reserves, conceded.
“The result is clear,” he told reporters, adding Shanmugaratnam “has indeed earned a mandate from the people of Singapore.”
Shanmugaratnam acknowledged the “changing and evolving” nature of Singapore, notably its diversity, and said he believes the election was seen as “another milestone in that process of evolution.”
The office, which technically manages the city’s amassed financial reserves and has the authority to veto certain actions and authorise anti-graft investigations, has strict qualifications.
Although the law designates the presidency as an impartial office, political boundaries had already been established in advance of the vote to succeed incumbent Halimah Yacob, who was unopposed for her six-year term in 2017.
