Singapore's former deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected president on Friday, earning a landslide victory in the city-state's first contested vote for the largely ceremonial position in more than a decade.
Singaporeans headed to the polls that were closely watched as an indication of support for the ruling party after a rare spate of scandals, but the stalwart of the party won more than two-thirds of the vote over two rivals.
“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,” Mr Shanmugaratnam 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 won 70.4 per cent of the vote to win a six-year term.
His main rival Ng Kok Song, a former chief investment officer of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, which manages the country's foreign reserves, conceded after winning 15.7 per cent of the vote.
“The result is clear,” he told reporters, adding Mr Shanmugaratnam “has indeed earned a mandate from the people of Singapore”.
‘Changing and evolving’
Mr 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”.
There are stringent requirements for the position, which formally oversees the city's accumulated financial reserves and holds the power to veto certain measures and approve anti-corruption investigations.
While the presidency is a non-partisan post under the constitution, political lines had already been drawn before the election to replace incumbent Halimah Yacob, who ran unopposed for her six-year term in 2017.
Mr Shanmugaratnam was widely viewed as the favourite for the position and had resigned as a member of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) and as a senior minister in the cabinet ahead of the election as all presidential candidates must be independent.
The 66-year-old economist is perceived as having the government's backing and was questioned about his independence during the campaign.
The city-state's government is run by the prime minister, currently Lee Hsien Loong of the PAP, which has ruled Singapore continuously since 1959.
“Singaporeans have chosen Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam to be our next president by a decisive margin,” Mr Lee said.
The US sent a congratulatory message to Mr Shanmugaratnam that pointed to “mutual respect, shared values and common interests” with Singapore.
Observers said the vote would indicate the level of PAP support ahead of general elections due in 2025 or discontent after recent scandals that include a corruption investigation into the transport minister and the resignations of two PAP politicians over an affair.
“What we want is a prosperous Singapore,” self-employed worker Patrick Low, 70, told AFP after casting his vote.
All three of Singapore’s prime ministers to date have been of Chinese origin and, in a country where three-quarters of the residents are ethnic Chinese, it would be hard to break that tradition. Just one in 10 Singaporeans can, like Mr Shanmugaratnam, trace their roots back to South Asia.
South Asian descent
In his campaign speeches, Mr Shanmugaratnam pressed the right buttons for an electorate that has in recent years begun to question the hard-nosed growth-at-all-costs policies of the PAP that left many marginalised and struggling to make ends meet.
In a calm baritone and with his trademark avuncular style, he crunched numbers to show how social welfare is working.
He also explained changes the PAP has embraced after 50 years of unbroken rule, but conceded still more were needed.
“It used to be a top-down government, often quite heavy-handed,” he told one rally. “It’s no longer that way … Strong leadership is listening, engaging, moving with people.”
Mr Shanmugaratnam spoke some Mandarin on the campaign, and when he quoted from an ancient Chinese poem at one rally the crowd exploded with cheers.
He was educated at the London School of Economics, Cambridge and Harvard, and spent most of his career at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the island state’s central bank and financial regulator.
