2023 Singaporean presidential election

2023 Singaporean presidential election

1 September 2023
Registered	2,709,455 7.66%
Turnout	2,530,912 (93.41%) 1.39%
Nominee Tharman Shanmugaratnam Ng Kok Song Tan Kin Lian Party Independent Independent Independent Popular vote 1,746,427 390,041 344,292 Percentage 70.40% 15.72% 13.88%
President before election Halimah Yacob Independent Elected President Tharman Shanmugaratnam Independent

Presidential elections were held in Singapore on 1 September 2023. It was the sixth elected Singaporean presidential election, as well as the third to be contested by more than one candidate. Incumbent president Halimah Yacob, who had been elected unopposed in 2017, did not seek re-election.

A non-partisan position, the candidates contesting in the election were Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ng Kok Song, and Tan Kin Lian, who were all independents or had resigned from any political parties that they had previously been members of. They were all issued the Certificate of Eligibility and the Community Certificate, to be able to contest in the election.

Tharman won the election in a landslide with a record margin of 70.40% of votes, a feat that was not seen in previous contested presidential elections. He also became the first non-Chinese to be directly elected to the presidency. The votes for his rivals were much more split, with Ng and two-time Presidential candidate Tan having received 15.72% and 13.88% of the votes respectively, the latter having improved his performance after having his deposit forfeited in his first stint. Tharman is scheduled to be inaugurated on 14 September as the ninth President of Singapore.

Background

See also: Presidential elections in Singapore

The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Republic of Singapore. The incumbent president is Halimah Yacob, who took office on 14 September 2017. She is also the first female president in the country's history. The president of Singapore has the highest annual remuneration for the appointment of an executive president in the world at S$1.54 million or US$1.1 million and is subject to periodic White Paper reviews.

As Singapore's political system is modelled after the Westminster system that was first developed in England, the office is largely ceremonial, with the general direction and control of the Government exercised by the Cabinet led by the prime minister instead. Nevertheless, the presidency does have several crucial powers designed to safeguard the national reserves and the integrity of the civil and public service, and has far-reaching formal obligations and duty to act above party politics and partisanship.

Such powers include withholding assent to any supply bill that is likely to draw on the reserves that were not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office and refusing to make or revoke appointments to public offices such as Chief Justice, Attorney-General, Chief of Defence Force and Commissioner of Police amongst others. The president also represents the country in official diplomatic functions and serves as its prestige.

The current system of conducting elections for the presidency began with the 1993 presidential election. Prior to that, the president was appointed by Parliament. As per the Constitution, there are strict requirements for prospective presidential candidates, and whether a candidate meets the qualifications or not is decided by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC), which is given the task of issuing a certificate of eligibility (COE) to prospective candidates.

Eligibility

Candidates must satisfy either the public sector or private sector requirements. The public sector requirement has an automatic track where the candidate has held either a designated public office or chief executive position of a key statutory board or government company. The private sector requirements also have an automatic track where the candidate has held the chief executive position of a company with S$500 million shareholders' equity and net profitability. Not withstanding the automatic tracks of the aforementioned, candidates could also be qualified on a deliberative track where their abilities and experiences have been assessed by the PEC to be equivalent to either the public or private sector automatic track requirements.

The presidency is required by the Constitution to be non-partisan. Following amendments to the Constitution, the 2017 presidential election was the first to be reserved for a particular racial community. It was first restricted to candidates from the minority Malay community, who had not held the presidency since 1970. The 2023 presidential election is open to candidates of any racial community.

Election procedures

The incumbent President Halimah Yacob's term of office is scheduled to end on 13 September 2023. Hence, there is a need to hold a presidential election within three months of its expiration, which began on 13 July 2023. Any Singaporean citizen who wishes to be a candidate in the election has to apply and receive a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) as well as a community certificate.

On 11 August, the writ of election was issued by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In the writ of election, details of the Nomination Day were stated. Nomination Day was held on 22 August 2023 at the People's Association (PA) headquarters situated at 9 King George's Avenue. The Returning Officer for this election is Tan Meng Dui, CEO of the Housing and Development Board (HDB), who is serving his second election for this role after the 2020 general election.

By Nomination Day, all prospective candidates had to prepare their nomination papers. One must have the COE, community certificate and political donation certificate. One also had to pay the election deposit of $40,500, which was lowered from the last election in 2017 of $43,500. A candidate will lose this deposit if they cannot secure over 12.5% of the total votes cast. The nomination paper must be signed by one's proposer, seconder and at least four assentors, and be handed to the Returning Officer between 11:00 to 12:00 SST (UTC+08:00) on Nomination Day. On Nomination Day itself, the Returning Officer announced the candidates running for the presidency. However, if only one candidate was successfully nominated, the election would be declared as a walkover and the sole nominated candidate would be the President-elect; otherwise, the Polling Day was adjourned to 1 September.

In-person rallies were discouraged by the Elections Department, which did not designate any rally sites for the election. It also stated that rallies may be divisive and not congruent with the nature of the unifying role of the presidential system. Candidate speeches were televised on local television channels instead, while smaller election meetings were allowed to be held, albeit indoors or with cover for security reasons. Campaigning was held between 22 and 30 August. This is followed by cooling-off day, on the eve of Polling Day on 31 August, where campaigning was prohibited to allow time for voters to reflect on events before casting their votes.

Voting

Polling Day is being held on 1 September, where polls are cast between 08:00 to 20:00; the winner of the election is determined through the first-past-the-post voting (FPTP) and will be inaugurated on 14 September. The election would see 2,709,455 eligible voters cast their votes, up from 2,653,942 from the most recent general election in 2020 and 2,274,773 from the last contested presidential election in 2011. The ELD increased the number of polling stations from 1,097 to 1,264, reducing the number of voters allocated to each station from an average of 2,400 to 2,150 people compared to the last election held. They had also assigned more civil servants, increasing the manpower from 30,000 to 36,000. The 'X' pen used in the 2020 general election was also replaced with an 'X' stamp to eliminate the confusion of some voters in the previous election held who had mistaken the pen for writing rather than for stamping. After the polls closed, these ballot boxes were then sealed and transported to one of 215 counting stations island-wide to initiate the counting process.

On 24 August, ELD issued an apology to 9,822 voters from Tanjong Pagar GRC, all of whom had been assigned to vote at either St Margaret's School, Tanglin Community Centre, Farrer Park Primary School or Delta Sports Hall, for a printing mishap whereby duplicate poll cards with different serial numbers had been printed and sent to voters by mistake. ELD also announced that about 200 voters would be excluded from the list of electorates and would thus be unable to vote on Polling Day, citing scanning issues on some NRIC cards during the 2020 general election, and that 32,807 non-voters had since been reinstated into the list when restorations opened on 5 October 2020.

With the amendments of a bill on 8 March 2023, mobile polling stations were set up at 31 selected nursing homes to cater for the elderly and seniors for the first time ever. This move was made in response to the increase in the ageing electorate and mitigating travel restrictions, especially in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic occurring at the time of the 2020 elections, according to Education Minister and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing. During this election, there would be 4,807 home residents voting through these stations.

During the opening hours of the Polling Day, there were technical issues with the e-registration system, leading to a build-up of queues at the various polling stations. The technical issues were progressively being resolved.

Overseas voting

In 2023, an amendment to the Presidential Elections Act and Parliamentary Elections Act was tabled in Parliament that enables Singaporeans living abroad to vote by post in subsequent elections, giving them an additional option. This was the first election whereby Singaporean citizens abroad could exercise their voting rights by post. Prior to 2023, they may only vote in person at one of ten designated overseas polling stations, located in various places such as Australia (Canberra), China (three polling stations: Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai), Japan (Tokyo), the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), the United Kingdom (London) and the United States (three polling stations: New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.).

Each citizen was assigned to an overseas polling station depending on where they lived. Expatriate citizens were also assigned a polling station in Singapore, where they could vote in person if they happened to be in Singapore on the polling day.

ELD confirmed on 23 August that 6,649 voters have been registered as overseas voters, with 3,432 doing postal voting and the rest being assigned to their respective overseas polling stations. During the Polling Day, ELD advised overseas voters in Hong Kong to follow the latest safety updates about the upcoming Typhoon Saola that would reach Hong Kong before heading outdoors to vote, and its voting station opened as usual. Elsewhere, Japan, another country with an overseas polling station, had reported its highest average temperature during the voting hours amidst the ongoing heat wave.

Candidates

Elections Department (ELD) announced that there were 6 Certificate of Eligibility applications, three of which (two Chinese and one Indian/other minority) were accepted. ELD also announced that there were 16 Community Certificate applications, six of which (five Chinese and one Indian/other minority) were accepted.

Eligible

Candidates	Background	Application result
Tharman Shanmugaratnam	Tharman has served as Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Deputy Chairman of GIC, Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the Economic Development Board, and as a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC's Taman Jurong division from 2001 to 2023. On 8 June, Tharman announced that he would resign from all his positions in the government and as a member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP) on 7 July to run for the presidency. On 26 July, Tharman launched his campaign and announced his team of assenters with a press conference at the York Hotel. On 7 August, he submitted his application for a certificate of eligibility to the Elections Department.	Application for Certificate of Eligibility accepted.
Ng Kok Song	Ng is the founding partner and Chairman of Avanda Investment Management and former GIC Chief Investment Officer. He is serving on the advisory board of PIMCO, has served on the governing board of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and was the founding chairman of the Singapore Exchange. On 19 July, he collected his application forms and announced his bid to run for the presidency. On 2 August, Ng submitted his application for a certificate of eligibility to the Elections Department and announced that George Yeo would be one of his character references. At the time of nomination, Ng was the only candidate without any affiliation or a record of participation in any political party, and the third overall presidential candidate to do so after Chua Kim Yeow and S.R. Nathan.
Tan Kin Lian	Tan is a former CEO of NTUC Income (1997–2007) and former branch secretary at Marine Parade GRC of the governing People's Action Party (PAP) for three years. He eventually left the PAP in 2008 after three decades of membership, due to his inactivity and disagreements with the party's values. Tan contested in the 2011 presidential election but finished last by a large margin in a four-cornered contest and consequently had his electoral deposit forfeited. On 31 July, Tan announced that he had submitted his application for a certificate of eligibility to the Elections Department (ELD) on 11 July. He added that he will wait for the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) to announce the final slate of approved candidates before deciding whether to submit his nomination paper. On 11 August, Tan launched his campaign with Tan Jee Say and Lim Tean on his team of assenters. On 17 August, Tan announced he would not submit his nomination forms if all four prospective candidates were eligible to run for the election, and that it was his plan the whole time.

Declared ineligible

Candidates	Background	Application result
George Goh Ching Wah	On 12 June, Goh, the co-founder of Harvey Norman Ossia, confirmed that he would be running for president. He had previously been the Non-Resident Ambassador to Morocco, and is also the co-founder of the charity Border Mission. According to Goh, all the companies he owns or runs have a collective market capitalisation value of S$3.15 billion. On 4 August, Goh submitted his application for a certificate of eligibility to the Elections Department. Goh was unsuccessful in the application and was not awarded the certificate. Goh later said he did not accept the reason by the Committee for denying him the certificate, saying they took a narrow view of his capabilities. In response, the Committee said that the five companies were considered on their own merit instead of a combined figure, and that he was only the Chief Executive in two of them, thus not meeting the S$500 million shareholder equity requirement, and they also made the letter public.	Application for Certificate of Eligibility rejected.

Publicly expressed interest

• Lee Hsien Yang — Lee spent most of his career in the private sector, including being the CEO of Singtel and Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). A prominent member of the Lee family, he is the youngest son of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and brother of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Lee is estranged from his brother over the 38 Oxley Road dispute and had previously endorsed the Progress Singapore Party in the 2020 Singaporean general election. Lee said during a telephone interview with Bloomberg in March 2023, "There is a view that depending on who they (referring to the People's Action Party) float, if I were to run they would be in serious trouble and could lose. A lot of people have come to me. They really want me to run. It's something I would consider." As of March 2023, both Lee and his wife, Lee Suet Fern, are currently in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom after being under investigation for lying during judicial proceedings. Lee did not collect his application forms from the Elections Department.
• Seng Soon Kia — Seng is a 72 year-old former woodworking teacher who collected his application forms at the Elections Department office on 13 June 2023. In an interview conducted by the media following the collection of his application forms, he claimed to have fulfilled the requirements in order to run as president.
• Teo En Ming — Teo is a 45 year-old information technology consultant who collected his application forms at the Elections Department office on 27 June 2023; he announced his presidential bid on TikTok. He expressed his admiration for Sun Yat-sen and Ong Teng Cheong, the fifth President of Singapore, and stated that he wished to be a "President for all" like them.

Declined to be candidates

• Halimah Yacob — the incumbent and eighth president of Singapore, announced on 29 May 2023, that she would not be seeking re-election after "careful consideration".
• George Yeo — Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2011 and Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC from 1988 to 2004, ruled out a run for president after his defeat in Aljunied GRC during the 2011 general election. In 2022, he confirmed he would not run for the 2023 presidential elections.

Endorsements

The candidates received the following endorsements, in alphabetical order:

Tharman Shanmugaratnam

• Kishore Mahbubani, diplomat, former Singapore Permanent Representative to the United Nations and President of the United Nations Security Council
• Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party (PAP)
• Tommy Koh, diplomat, Singapore ambassador-at-large and former Permanent Representative to the United Nations

Ng Kok Song

• George Yeo, former Cabinet Minister of Singapore and former Chief of Staff of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)

Tan Kin Lian

• Chee Soon Juan, perennial political candidate and Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)
• Iris Koh, anti-vaccination activist
• Lim Tean, founder and Secretary-General of the Peoples Voice (PV)
• Tan Cheng Bock, former presidential candidate in 2011 and founder of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP)
• Tan Jee Say, former presidential candidate in 2011 and former Secretary-General of the now defunct Singaporeans First (SingFirst)

Timeline

All dates reflected in this timeline are in Singapore Standard Time (SST), which is UTC+08:00.

Date	Event
May 2023
29 May	Incumbent President Halimah Yacob announces that she will not run for re-election in the 2023 presidential election.
June 2023
8 June	Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam puts himself forward as a candidate for the election, and announces that he will step down from all political positions on 7 July.
12 June	Harvey Norman Ossia chairman George Goh declares his intention to run for the presidency.
13 June	Applications for Certificates of Eligibility (COE) and Community Certificate were made available. Two potential candidates, George Goh and Seng Soon Kia collect their application forms at the Elections Department.
27 June	Teo En Ming collects his application forms at the Elections Department.
July 2023
19 July	Ng Kok Song collects his application forms at the Elections Department.
26 July	Tharman Shanmugaratnam launches his presidential campaign, titled "Respect for All".
30 July	Tan Kin Lian reveals that he has submitted his forms for the Certificate of Eligibility.
August 2023
3 August	Ng Kok Song submits application forms for the Certificate of Eligibility.
4 August	George Goh submits application forms for the Certificate of Eligibility. He also launched his presidential campaign that afternoon.
7 August	Tharman Shanmugaratnam submits application forms for the Certificate of Eligibility.
11 August	Tan Kin Lian announces his official bid for the presidency, his second attempt since the 2011 election.
	Issuance of Writ of Election, adjourning Nomination Day and Polling Day on 22 August and 1 September, respectively.
17 August	Deadline for applications for the Certificate of Eligibility and Community Certificate.
18 August	Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ng Kok Song, and Tan Kin Lian were issued Certificates of Eligibility. ELD also announced that 10 out of the 16 community declarations and three applications for COE, most notably of George Goh, were rejected.
22 August	Nomination Day (see below) All three eligible candidates (Ng Kok Song, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Tan Kin Lian) were nominated and Notice of contested election was issued.
22 to 30 August	Campaigning period (see below)
31 August	Cooling-off Day
September 2023
1 September	Polling Day (see below)
2 September	At 12:23, Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui announced final outcome of election. (see below)

Future events

Date	Event
13 September	Halimah Yacob's term of office expires.
14 September	Inauguration day

Candidate participation timeline

Candidate announcement and, if applicable, withdrawal dates are as follows:

Status
	Successfully nominated
	Currently running
	Expressed interest, yet to run
	Withdrawn/Did not qualify
Events
	Writ of Election issued
	Deadline for Certificate of Eligibility
	Nomination Day
	Presidential Candidate Broadcast 1
	CNA Presidential Forum
	Presidential Candidate Broadcast 2
	Polling Day
	Inauguration Day

Selection of candidates

On 18 August, the Elections Department (ELD) announced the results of the application for the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) and Community Certificates, one day after the applications for both certificates closed, on 17 August. Three potential candidates were issued both the COE and community declaration:

• Ng Kok Song: due to the prior experience and ability comparable to someone who served as a Chief executive officer-equivalent role of a government-based company for at least three years. In Ng's case, he was the Chief Investment Officer of the GIC between 2007 and 2013.
• Tharman Shanmugaratnam: due to serving as a cabinet minister for at least 3 years. Tharman served 20 years as a cabinet minister between 2003 and 2023.
• Tan Kin Lian: due to the prior experience and ability comparable to someone who served as a Chief executive officer-equivalent role of a typical company with at least $500 million in shareholder equity. In Tan's case, he served as a Chief Executive Officer of NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative between 1997 and 2007 for around 10 years and accumulated a shareholder's equity of over $1.4 billion during his tenure.

All three candidates had been characterized by ELD with 'integrity, good character and reputation'; both Ng and Tharman had satisfied the public sector requirements, while Tan had fulfilled the private sector requirements.

Nomination Day

Nomination day was held on 22 August 2023 at the People's Association headquarters situated at 9 King George's Avenue. The three candidates that were awarded the Certificate of Eligibility, Ng Kok Song, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Tan Kin Lian, were successfully nominated on Nomination Day.

Candidates' symbols and slogans

Following the nominations, the three candidates unveiled their symbols and their slogans, as follows:

Candidate	Description of symbol	Slogan
Ng Kok Song	Hand with a heart shape at its palm	United for our future
Tharman Shanmugaratnam	Pineapple	Respect for all
Tan Kin Lian	Four person living in harmony, holding a flower	Bring back trust, give us hope

In an interview by Tharman during his campaign, he also considered durian as his alternate symbol, but eventually went with pineapple as it represents prosperity, which also referenced his prior ministerial roles.

Team of Assenters

Candidates	Ng Kok Song		Tan Kin Lian		Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Assenter	Name	Profession	Name	Profession	Name	Profession
Proposer	Quah Wee Ghee	Co-founder of Avanda Investment Management and ex-president public markets of GIC	Tan Jee Say	Ex-principal private secretary, founder of ex-S'poreans First party and PE2011 nominated candidate	Thomas Chua Kee Seng	President of S'pore Fed of Chinese Clan Assoc, honorary president of S'pore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, board chairman of Techwah and ex-NMP
Seconder	Carol Tan	Geriatrician of Good Life Medical Centre	Lim Tean	Founder of People's Voice party	Mohammad Alami Musa	Head of studies in inter-religious relations of NTU, ambassador to Algeria and ex-president of MUIS
Assenter 1	Ameerali Abdeali	Justice-of-Peace, director of GetIT Communications and CEO of Team6Safety Training & Consultancy	Leong Sze Hian	Honorary chairman of Singapore Professional Centre and acting managing director of The Online Citizen	Mary Liew	President of NTUC and ex-NMP
Assenter 2	Ho Tian Yee	Chairman of Fullerton Fund Management, Mount Alvernia Hospital, FFMC Holdings, deputy chairman of Pavilion Capital and director of Seviora Holdings	Yeo Gim Beng	Business owner and director	Lim Siong Guan	Group president of GIC and ex-chairman of IRAS, ACRA, EDB & CPF
Assenter 3	Chua Cher Choon	Ex-chairman of the Montfort School managing committee and ex-career banker	Manmeet Singh s/o Bahadar Singh	Food delivery rider	Ho Kwon Ping	Founder/executive chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, executive director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels and Thai Wah
Assenter 4	Mohamed Salleh Marican	CEO of Second Chance and PE2017 aspirant	Vigneswari d/o V Ramachan-dran	Pre-school teacher	Kamisinah Sadar	General manager of Tasek Jurong and ex-executive director of Pertapis
Assenter 5	Margaret Chan	Philanthropist and governor emeritus of Lien Foundation	Vincent Tan Hun Cheong	Sales & business development executive	Veera Sekaran	Professor(practice) of Biological Sciences Dept NUS
Assenter 6	Abdul Hamid Abdullah	Founding member of Assoc of Muslim Professionals, Casa Raudha Women Home and ex-audit director of Auditor-General's Office	Chiu Shin Kong	Self-employed	Hassan Ahmad	Humanitarian, special advisor to Humanity Matters and ex-CEO of Mercy Relief
Assenter 7	Tjio Hans	CJ Koh distinguished professor of Law Faculty NUS, ex-director of Centre for Banking & Finance Law and Centre for Commercial Law Studies	Chen Jun Hao	Undergraduate law student, business owner and freelancer	Kim Whye Kee	Business owner of Qi Pottery, co-founder of Beacon of Life and ex-prison inmate
Assenter 8	Angelene Chan	Chairman of DP Architects	Khuan Jia Hui	Patient clinic associate	Royston Tan	Independent film-maker

Campaigning period

Campaign posters of Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Tan Kin Lian on a light pole along Holland Road

Ng Kok Song had abstained from putting up such posters citing limited resources and sustainability issues, instead relying on social media and walkabouts

Under amendments of bills on March 8, minors under the age of 16 and foreign entities (such as companies or organisations from participating in election activities) are barred from any political involvement (previously to students currently studying Primary or Secondary Schools) to prevent any exploitation and flexible contingency, though they can still participate in election-related activities such as attending rallies. Foreign individuals remained barred from involvement under the current laws. For election expenses, the expenditure limit is capped at either S$600,000 or 30 cents per registered voter, whichever amount is greater. The amount was announced on 12 August to be S$812,822.10, higher than the minimum of S$600,000. They must also declare their election expenses within 31 days after Polling Day.

22–25 August

In their ensuing acceptance speeches on Nomination Day, Ng Kok Song was the first to deliver his speech. Ng revealed that he had never been part of a political party before, and if elected, vowing that he would protect his "three treasures" of past reserves, public services and social stability. Tharman Shanmugaratnam was the second to speak, pledging to have a "fair, dignified and honourable contest" for voters, and began his campaign that "unites Singaporeans and not divide us". Tan Kin Lian was the last to address his speech, and emphasised on voting a president "truly independent" of the government. Tan also claimed that he was involved in a "smear campaign" before the nomination over his social media posts.However, he later did apologise to those who felt "uncomfortable" from his posts.

Posters were erected immediately following the Nominations, with Tharman's posters being erected first followed by Tan's shortly after. Only Ng abstained from doing so, citing "limited resources" and environmental concerns – instead, he announced that he would rely on social media for his campaign strategy.

Ng also began his campaigning by visiting his former residence at Kangkar (now Sengkang and located in Upper Serangoon) where he bowed down and kissed the ground, referencing his childhood and proving that young Singaporeans can be successful regardless of background. Ng also visited several sites at Hougang, such as the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Montfort School and Kangkar Mall to distribute pamphlets. On the second day, Ng warned the media that the relationship between the President and the Prime Minister should not be "too close", as it would be difficult for the President to discharge their duties objectively without bias. He also added that he would schedule an online rally.

Tharman hosted an indoor rally at 24OWLS, which is located within Pasir Panjang Power Station, on 25 August.

25–30 August

Tan Kin Lian cancelled the remainder of his walkabouts and would not be giving interviews without giving reasons for doing so on the night of 27 August. On 28 August, several opposition candidates and political analysts began to query Tan's assertion as an "independent candidate" after seeing that he had received support from Tan Cheng Bock and Tan Jee Say on several media outlets, along with a sticker containing a memetic tagline "One Vote, Three Presidents?". The sticker has since been removed as of 30 August due to a violation of the campaigning guidelines under the Presidential Election Act 1991, according to ELD and Tan's team, whose principal election agent, Prabu Ramachandran, verified that the sticker was done anonymously and neither their members had authorized them to do so; unauthorized publication of physical advertising is an offence under the act.

On 28 August, in light of Tan Cheng Bock's endorsement of Tan, Ng Kok Song questioned Tan's independence in the election. He stated that it is questionable for Tan to claim to be an independent candidate when he has been dependent on opposition party leaders, additionally accusing Tan of "making a mockery of the presidency" and that "political parties should wait for the next general election to make their point instead of confusing voters into thinking that this is a general election". Ng also concluded that such blatant political endorsements of Tan polarise voters by politicising the presidential election and that by doing so have "dishonoured the office of the President as a unifying non-partisan position."

On 29 August, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) responded that they had "denied any claims" and insisted they would "neither endorse nor support any candidates" even when party volunteers received an email to register as counting agents for Tan, whose endorsements can negatively influence the party, according to their CEC members. On the same day, Ng reiterated the meaning of non-partisan to the media during his walkabout at Marine Parade where Singaporeans do not want a president "who's manipulated by either the governing party or by the opposition parties", in their response to Tan's endorsements. Tharman Shanmugaratnam responded on media during a walkabout at Sengkang that he found it "absurd" and concerned that his rivals are "increasingly sweeping statements" pertaining to being non-partisan, in which Ng replied that it was "misquoted"; Tharman urged the voters to take this seriously and felt "very unfortunate" for voters who spoil their votes as a response on politicisation.

Later that evening, a police report was lodged against a man on a bicycle who disrupted and heckled Ng and his team while conducting his walkabout at Clementi. The man had attempted to ram on with his bicycle, and launched an expletive-laden rant onto Ng, then repeatedly shouting Tan's name before he left the scene. Nobody was hurt in the ensuing incident, and Ng encouraged people to "behave in a respectful manner". The man surrendered himself to the police the next day by claiming that he had posed a danger to himself with intentions to self-harm. He was subsequently apprehended and sent to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). Subsequently, security for Ng and their team was enhanced, while the video went viral. Elsewhere, Tan's seconder Lim Tean adjourned his court trial for charges against acting as an advocate or solicitor in an unauthorized manner in 2021, which was initially scheduled on 29 August, after he dismissed his representative lawyer citing "fundamental disagreements", and to avoid conflicts with the election. District Judge Ong Hian Sun told Lim to find a new lawyer by the next day or he will represent himself for the trial instead. On the same day, activist and lawyer M Ravi filed a separate lawsuit to the Supreme Court in his attempt to disqualify Tharman from the candidacy, citing a breach in the constitution's Article 19 because of his conviction under the Official Secrets Act. He revealed the following day that the Court dismissed the application, ordering Ravi to pay costs of S$6,000.

On 30 August, the leading opposition party Workers' Party (WP), reiterated its objection to the elected presidency in favour of a return to a ceremonial presidency – where the President is appointed by Parliament – and has stated that it will not endorse any candidates in the presidential election. The party also added that the current qualifying criteria for presidential candidates is "skewed towards People's Action Party (PAP)–approved candidates", and the "elected presidency in its current form undermines parliamentary democracy". Meanwhile, screenshots depicting the Reserves & Investment (R&I) Directorate list of employees showing Akilan Shanmugaratnam, the son of Tharman working as a Finance Ministry officer since June 2022, went viral on social media. In response to the possibility of a conflict of interest if Tharman wins the presidency, the Ministry of Finance and Public Service Commission Secretariat simultaneously commented that there was "no conflict of interest between Tharman's candidacy in the presidential elections and his son Akilan", and that their decision to rotate his post back in July was to "preempt any possible such conflicts".

The candidates wrapped up their hustings on the last day prior to the cooling-off day with Ng and Tan respectively visiting Hougang and Sengkang, with Ng visiting the sub-region of Lorong Ah Soo and the Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery before ending at Kopitiam Square in Sengkang, while Tan was at Hougang Central. Tharman visited Marine Parade, including the Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre.

Television broadcasts

The timings are in Singapore Standard Time (SST), which is UTC+08:00.

Date	Event
24 August	First Presidential Candidate Broadcast
28 August	CNA Presidential Forum
30 August	Second Presidential Candidate Broadcast

Language	Time	Channels/Radio stations
English	19:00	CNA, CNA938, MONEY FM 89.3, ONE FM 91.3, Kiss92, Power 98
	21:30	Channel 5, Gold 905, Class 95
Malay		Suria, Warna 942
Tamil	21:00	Vasantham, Oli 968
Mandarin Chinese	22:30	Channel 8, Capital 958, 96.3 Hao FM, UFM100.3 and 883Jia
	23:30	Channel U

First Presidential Candidate Broadcast

The first of the two rounds of the Presidential Candidate Broadcast was held on 24 August; the order of the candidates appearing in this round of broadcast is based on the alphabetical order of the surnames. Ng said that "the time has come" for a president to be fully non-partisan and said that he was neither endorsed nor represented by a political party, specifically the ruling People's Action Party without fear or favour. He added that the president's role will also serve as a "constitutional check" on a bad government that might raid the country's reserves, or appoint incompetent or corrupt individuals to key public service positions. He added that Singapore can "no longer take for granted" that it will always have a "good and honest" government, saying that there is a need for external check functioning in good corporate governance like himself as its "ownself check ownself" system isn't reliable. He also pledged to "Do Well, Do Right and Do Good" to provide a resilience of body and mind.

Tharman said that he would bring his ideal of "independence of mind" and "respect" should he be elected, and wanted to become a "unifying figure at home and to advance Singapore's interests abroad", as he mentioned that modern-day Singapore's democracy, as well as the current political climate in the world, were diverse but also challenging at times, concerning a political divide. He also had plans to voice out views in Singapore so as to prove that Singapore "never become just another small country" and said that he was an "optimist in our future".

Tan highlighted two key duties of the president given his 30 years prior experience as a CEO of NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative. One that safeguards Singapore's reserves is that he intends to invest "prudently" with the support of the government to ensure that it is benefiting Singaporeans. Two, protecting the integrity of public service. He values the efforts and emphasises the needs of certain talents who have many years of working experience and possess excellent practical skills, especially thinking skills, to form a good team and told that he would give those the opportunity to promote to leadership positions, not just scholars. He also clarified that he didn't intend to be an "adversary to the elected government", but said that he would collaborate more with the government and reiterated beliefs on the "spirit of unity and pride", as well as connecting with ordinary people on "their hardship and aspirations". Prior to the broadcast, both ELD and the Infocomm Media Development Authority had amended Tan's script by removing some inaccuracies, specifically the president's role and enticing the voters.

CNA Presidential Forum

The CNA forum was held on 28 August at about 21:09, with Otelli Edwards hosting. Eight questions are asked to three candidates in order before they make their closing speeches after the questions are answered:

• What experience and expertise do you possess, that make you the most qualified candidate to be the President?
• Beyond what the Government tells you, what factors would you consider, before using the second key to the Past Reserves?
• How can you convince voters you are not politicising the election and will exercise your powers without fear or favour?
• What unique traits do you possess that will help you represent Singapore on the global stage?
• What role would you play as President to build a more inclusive and compassionate society?
• How do you plan to connect with young Singaporeans and involve them in writing the next chapter of the Singapore story?
• Beyond your ceremonial and community roles, how do you intend to be a unifying figure for the nation?
• What major challenges will Singapore face and how will you, within the powers of the President, help Singaporeans to cope?

The forum was rerun on Channel 5 at 21:00 the day after on 29 August.

Second Presidential Candidate Broadcast

The second of the two rounds of the Presidential Candidate Broadcast was held on 30 August; the order of the candidates appearing in this round of broadcast is reversed from the first round.

Tan Kin Lian's broadcast acknowledged that the President has no executive authority to cover common issues and matters, particularly from younger people, but that he could focus on going with a "soft influence" for such changes, and all with a focus to "achieve our common goals for the benefit of Singapore". Furthermore, he made a public apology for the criticism he had received over his social media posts about women from some sectors of the public, specifically the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE). He added that he would be "more mindful of what I say" going forward. Tan also highlighted that one could factor his experience as President from making "sound investment decisions" at NTUC Income and representing the country in an international insurance federation.

Tharman highlighted his track record of connecting with people from all backgrounds in his former Taman Jurong division of Jurong GRC when he was a Member of Parliament (MP) of the People's Action Party (PAP) for 22 years, his general political career in ministerial positions including as Minister of Finance, Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister, and reflected his experience on working with international organisations such as the G20, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN) and the World Economic Forum (WEF). He also mentioned that the demands have been increased due to the "new and challenging future" where Singaporeans faced an increasing trend of "profound global risks and uncertainties", and to "differentiate him from an actual partisan candidate", stressing that his motive despite his political background has "never been politically partisan".

Ng warned in his second broadcast that politics in Singapore has become "highly contestable" and that electing the wrong team is "no longer a remote possibility". He added that the country cannot afford to have a President who may be beholden to political parties to serve their agenda and reiterated that it cannot continue to rely on an "ownself check ownself" mechanism. He believes the current generational transition of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) government carries "uncertainties and risks" which had been brought forward by the government due to scandals plaguing the party over the past month – such as the arrests of Transport Minister S Iswaran over allegations of corruption and the resignations of its MPs Tan Chuan-Jin and Cheng Li Hui over an extramarital affair. He also alluded to Tharman by stating whether it is appropriate for an ex-Finance Minister who "had set fiscal policies to then move across the table and become the President and check on the very policies that he had put in place". He also brought up the 1984 National Day Rally which was made by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, stating that Singaporeans should be aware of "silver-tongued politicians who make empty promises". He concluded that Singapore needs a truly independent President like himself to break from its past of having a President always endorsed by the PAP to protect the country's reserves from being squandered under a potential rogue government.

Social media

All social media events and campaigning occurred in 2023, unless otherwise stated, and are listed in chronological order.

Date	Event	NKS	TKL	TS	Method	Venue/Social Media Channel	Source
17 August	TDK Podcast #234	✔			Online	Grvty Media/YouTube-The Daily Ketchup Podcast
23 August	PE2023 Full Interview Podcast		✔		Online	YouTube-Zyrup Media
23 August	PE2023 Full Interview Podcast			✔	Online	YouTube-Zyrup Media
23 August	PE2023 Full Interview Podcast	✔			Online	YouTube-Zyrup Media
24 August	CNA Speaks to Presidential Candidate	✔			Televised	Mediacorp/YouTube's CNA channel
25 August	Election Meeting			✔	Physical	Pasir Panjang Power Station
25 August	NUSS Meet The Presidential Candidate	✔			Hybrid	NUSS Guide House/YouTube-Ng Kok Song
25 August	CNA Speaks to Presidential Candidate			✔	Televised	Mediacorp/YouTube's CNA channel
25 August	TDK Podcast #236		✔		Online	Grvty Media/YouTube-The Daily Ketchup Podcast
26 August	NUSS Meet The Presidential Candidate		✔		Hybrid	NUSS Guide House/Facebook-Tan Kin Lian
26 August	CNA Speaks to Presidential Candidate		✔		Televised	Mediacorp/YouTube's CNA channel
27 August	Ask The Next President Anything	✔		✔	Online	SPH Media/YouTube-The Straits Times
28 August	Presidential Forum	✔	✔	✔	Televised	Mediacorp/YouTube's CNA channel
30 August	TDK Podcast #238			✔	Online	Grvty Media/YouTube-The Daily Ketchup Podcast

Polling

Voters queuing up to vote at a polling station for the next president

Polling Day was on 1 September 2023, and polling stations opened from 08:00 to 20:00 SST (UTC+08:00). As with elections since 2015, a sample count was released by the Elections Department prior to the announcement of the actual results to prevent any unnecessary speculation or reliance on unofficial sources of information while counting was still under way. A standby counting machine was also used in the event of an election recount, which is automatically triggered when the top two candidates had a winning margin of within 2%.

During the polling, according to Lianhe Zaobao newspapers, a viral image surfaced online where one of the polling stations had refused entry to a female voter, who was wearing a shirt with pineapple prints, amounting to political propaganda and canvassing, which were both prohibited under the law during Polling (and cooling-off) day.

By 12:00, four hours after polls opened, 1,406,182 Singaporeans, representing about 52% of the electorate, had cast their votes. The number then later increased to 2,004,961 (74%) as of 15:00 and 2,302,996 (85%) as of 17:00. The eventual turnout was revealed as 2,530,912 (93.41%), lower than the 2011 and 2020's turnout of 94.80% and 95.81%, respectively.

Results

The sample counts were announced at about 22:42. The count showed that Tharman Shanmugaratnam was leading with 70% of the votes, followed by Ng Kok Song with 16% and Tan Kin Lian with 14%. At about 23:15, Ng conceded during a press conference and congratulated Tharman in advance, stating that there was a clear result and there was no need to wait for the final results. At about 23:30, Tan congratulated Tharman, but refused to concede until the actual results are announced.

The results were officially announced at 00:23 on 2 September, with the results as follows (excluding overseas votes):

Candidate	Votes	%
Tharman Shanmugaratnam	1,746,427	70.40
Ng Kok Song	390,041	15.72
Tan Kin Lian	344,292	13.88
Total	2,480,760	100.00
Valid votes	2,480,760	98.02
Invalid/blank votes	50,152	1.98
Total votes	2,530,912	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	2,709,455	93.41
Source: (preliminary)

Reactions

On 2 September 2023, shortly after the announcement of the election results, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Tharman Shanmugaratnam on his election citing that he was confident in his ability to carry out his new duties as president "with distinction", and his intention to work closely with the government. Lee also thanked the two candidates for their participation, the election officials for their hard work, and overseas voters for carrying out their civic duty; he mentioned that now the election was over, he urged Singapore to stay united and "tackle the challenges ahead and build a stronger and more united nation". Deputy Prime Ministers Lawrence Wong and Heng Swee Keat also congratulated Tharman on separate posts as well.

Elsewhere, his opponents had separate responses in congratulating Tharman. Ng Kok Song told on his media at one-north that he had achieved the "No. 1 goal" of allowing Singaporeans an opportunity to vote, which was his main objective while standing for the presidency. He further thanked Singapore for his recognition and pledged that he would continue to work with it, and also added "non-partisanship will now enter the vocabulary of governance in Singapore". Tan Kin Lian announced at his residence in Yio Chu Kang that he will "take thing easy" under his family's advice, and thank their supporters and his opposition figures, who were also present in the scene, for their support, though he would continue to voice out concerns over his platforms, reflecting on his election bid.

In the early morning, Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre were crowded in the celebration of Tharman's election, with its supporters bringing out pineapples and chanting "Ong lai huat ah" (lit. Good Fortune) and "Majulah Singapura". Tharman also visited several sites, such as Marsiling Mall (with Senior Minister of State and Marsiling's MP Zaqy Mohamad present), then Our Tampines Hub, and HDB Hub, to thank the supporters. In a prior interview before results were announced, Tharman was "humbled" about how Singaporeans believed his trust over many years and called it a "vote of optimism for a future", while also praised his rivals that they've "put full effort and energy into their campaigns" and respected the other voters who did not vote for him, thanking them for "following the issues closely". Further, he mentioned that he wasn't expected a "high degree of endorsement" but told that there was a fair number of people who normally was against PAP knew it was a Presidential election and not a political or general election. He also added about the generation transition and hoped that his presidency will meant to mature its relationship of respect.

International reactions

• Canada: The Canadian High Commission congratulated Tharman for his victory, and thanked outgoing President Halimah Yacob for her contributions in relationship between Canada and Singapore.
• European Union: Ambassador of Singapore Iwona Piórko congratulated Tharman and said that EU-Singapore has a deepening partnership that contributes effectiveness to addressing global and regional challenges.
• India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Tharman and posted on Twitter that he will be looking forward to working closely with the bilateral ties and its India–Singapore Strategic Partnership.
• Italy: Ambassador (Designate) to Singapore Dante Brandi posted on the Ambasciata d'Italia a Singapore's Instagram page a picture of his appearance at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors 2021 meeting as a commemoration of his win.
• Ukraine: Ambassador to Singapore Kateryna Zelenko congratulated Tharman, and said that "We look forward to further good cooperation and friendship" between Singapore and Ukraine.
• United States: United States Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller congratulated Tharman, and stated that he will be looking forward to working with him in further strengthening the relationship between Singapore and the United States. He also thanked outgoing President Halimah Yacob for her contributions.

Analysis

Pre-Nomination Day

On 14 August, TODAY interviewed about 15 first-time Presidential Election voters, age range between 21 and 33 about their knowledge about the elected presidency. Few had little knowledge or interest in politics to a handful who understand the topic.

The following day, TODAY and CNA conducted another survey of 1,500 first-time voters where a vast majority of them understood most of the Presidential roles. The role of being a symbolic figure and as a diplomat was identified by about 95% of them, followed by community and consultation of Council of Presidential Advisors at 91%, and safeguarding past reserves at 88.4%. The role where the elected President does not take orders from Parliament had the least understanding, clocking at 36.1%.

TODAY and CNA also conducted another survey about the relationship between Parliament and the President, where some knew that the elected President generally takes instructions from the Cabinet and not take instructions from himself. Analysts revealed that most first-time voters with a poor understanding of the election may imply that they have little to no interest in politics. Former Member of Parliament Inderjit Singh hinted that these first-timers may be "swayed by populist manifestos of some candidates without having the opportunity to verify facts". Kantar Public analyst Dr Leong Chan-Hoong noted significant changes in democracy and educated Singaporeans in mind, and that the young voters may not be apparent to such a demographic.

On Nomination Day

When candidates were confirmed on 18 August, many political analysts predicted that Tharman Shanmugaratnam would win and cited the slate of candidates are "very different" because two races are competing. Institute of Policy Studies Senior Researcher Gillian Koh suggested how the voters would find it difficult to resist Tharman’s "unparalleled international standing". Law lecturer at Singapore Management University, Associate Professor Eugene Tan predicted that the election would "assume his victory is a foregone conclusion" and should not be taken for granted if he was elected. Eugene Tan also praised that the three candidates had possessed strategic decisions in terms of the management of large funds and their respective reputations.

Some analysts had different views in regarding George Goh's ineligibility to run for the presidency. Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore was surprised that Goh was ineligible. To him, Goh can bring something different and unique to the table due to his private sector experience. It will give voters an additional choice to vote for. Eugene Tan agreed with Goh being ineligible, highlighting the relationship of one to many companies running with a shareholder equity of S$500 million is different. To him, one S$500 million company is different from running five hundred S$1 million companies. Therefore, he felt that the Presidential Elections Committee's decision was understandable.

During campaigning period

On 27 August, National University of Singapore Sociologist Ern Ser Tan noted an "undercurrent" with the election turning between current political order and regime change, with the likelihood of political transformation. He added that with Tan Kin Lian's involvement with Tan Cheng Bock and Tan Jee Say, the election has become clearly defined by the differences between the political orders of the ruling government and the opposition.

In light of the "One vote, Three presidents?" slogan which surfaced on 28 August, political observers began to query Tan Kin Lian about the assertion that he is an "independent candidate". Eugene Tan commented that "It effectively asserts that if Tan (Kin Lian) wins, he will attempt to transform the presidency into a partisan institution" and further cited that a non-partisan president "must be above the political fray". Eugene Tan believed that party endorsements or endorsements by politicians can be beholden to the opposition politicians and ruin the presidency.

School of Social Sciences at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) assistant professor Walid Jumblatt Abdullah analyst that this move meant Tan Kin Lian was attempting to position himself as the "ultimate anti-establishment candidate". Dr Felix Tan, another lecturer at NTU, said voting for Tan would suggest voting for oppositions, which defies the purpose of being non-partisan. Felix Tan also stressed that the relationship between General elections and Presidential elections is "conflated" and can affect democracy.

In a radio interview by MONEY FM 89.3 on a show Breakfast with Lynlee Foo and Ryan Huang on 30 August, Eugene Tan praised the usage of social media to communicate in the 2023 presidential election.

After release of election results

When the sample counts were released on 2 September, political analysts suggested that Tharman Shanmugaratnam's charisma and past track record and experience (including his constituency of Jurong GRC being the best-performing constituency for two consecutive elections in 2015 and 2020) may have attributed to a landslide victory, as opposed to Ng Kok Song's lack of public exposure and Tan Kin Lian's controversy, in which Eugene Tan, also during the CNA Polling Day results special, cited that it was "mind-boggling". He also highlighted Tan Kin Lian and his relationship with the opposition. He had "too (many) oppositional forces going on (in) his candidacy". Also, Tan's campaign lacks certain accuracies which Eugene Tan comments as "misogynist, racist, (and) even nativist".

Finally, Eugene Tan noted that the slight decline in turnout and an increase of spoilt votes meant that the election "generally do not make much of a difference" and was an effort for a "protest vote". He added that "the drop would be rather significant as this would signal that there might still be those who have some concerns with how the Presidential Election was run". During the 2011 presidential election, the turnout rate was 94.80%, while during the 2023 presidential election, the turnout rate was 93.41%.

Most political analysts also had different reactions to it, such as NTU political analyst Dr Felix Tan, citing that it was "rather unexpected and it's quite a surprise", and emphasized that "establishment versus anti-establishment" might have attributed to the anticlimactic result; NUS Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian criticised the result that Tharman gotten was at an advantage against "two weak opponents" and felt that the result was meant electing "strong candidates like everyone else". Chong also mentioned that the short campaigning period of just nine days, as well as Tan "negative spillover effect" towards loyal opposition supporters, have contributed to both Tan's and Ng's respective defeats.

Following the election, Dr Gillian Koh referenced the landslide also called the "Tharman effect", a term which was coined during the 45th St. Gallen Symposium in 2015 (where Tharman was one of the participants). Tharman's campaign was met with acclamation from several analysts. Eugene Tan pointed out that in Tharman's line, "race is never absent, but it is not the only factor", would see it as an evolution of our nation and praised that the voters would vote for his merits of personal qualities and track record, and praised the PAP government on promoting "multiracial meritocracy".

Dr Leong also praised Singaporeans on the results, agreeing that they have voted "about trust of the candidate", over certain doubts and past issues pertaining to the scandals and resignations from the government before the election. However, Ng's "ownself check ownself system" which has been borrowed from oppositions (specifically Pritam Singh) also brought concerns citing it was "very difficult for someone to set up the system to question the system". Analysts implied that voters should also understand the importance of the authority of the institution for a President-elect, in addition to the bread-and-butter issues.

External links

• CNA reporting of the 2023 Presidential election