SINGAPORE - Singaporeans have given Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam a resounding mandate to be Singapore’s ninth president.

The 66-year-old former senior minister scored a big win with 70.4 per cent of the vote, while Mr Ng Kok Song and Mr Tan Kin Lian received 15.72 per cent and 13.88 per cent, respectively.

Even before the official result was announced by Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui at 12.22am, it was clear who the winner was.

The sample count released at about 10.40pm showed Mr Tharman leading with 70 per cent, while Mr Ng and Mr Tan were trailing with 16 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.

Addressing the media at Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre shortly after that, Mr Tharman said he was “humbled by the strong endorsement that Singaporeans have given to me”.

“I believe that the vote for me and what I stand for is a vote of confidence in Singapore... It is a vote of optimism for a future in which we can progress together,” he said.

He also thanked his fellow candidates for making the presidential election a worthy contest.

He spoke about the future he envisioned for Singapore – one where people have deeper respect for one another, and where every generation gets the confidence of knowing that Singapore has reserves that will help the people in the future.

“It has to be a future in which Singapore is never treated as just another small country, a future where we are taken seriously in the world, we are a partner of choice, and where we can project our voice of reason internationally,” he said.

Earlier at 10pm, when he arrived in Jurong, where he served as an MP for 22 years, Mr Tharman was mobbed by jubilant supporters holding up pineapples as he made his way through the centre.

He was greeted with chants of “ong lai” and “huat ah”, referring to his campaign symbol of a pineapple. Ong lai means pineapple in Hokkien, and it symbolises prosperity and good fortune to come.

His supporters erupted into loud cheers once the sample count result was in.

In a statement released after the official result, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he had called Mr Tharman to congratulate him, and assured him of his Government’s full cooperation.

Mr Tharman had also declared his intention to work closely with the Government, said PM Lee.

Noting Mr Tharman’s long and distinguished record of public service, PM Lee said he had every confidence that Mr Tharman would carry out his duties as president with distinction.

“Singaporeans have chosen Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam to be our next president by a decisive margin... I thank the three candidates for putting themselves forward in this presidential election,” he added.

He said he was happy that Singaporeans were able to exercise the right to vote for their next president, and to focus on what the elected president is about. 

“Now that the election is over, let us come together again as Singaporeans, to tackle the challenges ahead and build a stronger and more united nation,” said PM Lee.

Mr Tharman will be sworn in as president at the Istana on Sept 14.

Mr Ng conceded the contest shortly after the sample count result was made known.

He told the media that he received a call from Mr Tharman, who lauded him and his team for putting up a “vigorous campaign”. Mr Ng also congratulated Mr Tharman on a “magnificent victory”.

“When I came forward to stand for the presidency, I said that my No. 1 goal was to ensure that the people of Singapore have redeemed their right to vote in this presidential election. I think I have accomplished that goal because the presidential election did take place today,” said Mr Ng.

“I am delighted for him. And I am very glad for him, that he has indeed earned a mandate from the people of Singapore.”

Mr Tan said he congratulated Mr Tharman on the result, but for himself, “I expected to do much better, but I think in an election, things are uncertain”.

“I will now heed the advice of my family to take life easy and live a normal life. I will spend more time with my grandchildren. In my free time, I will continue to do my part in voicing the hardship and aspirations of the people through other channels,” he said.

More than 2.5 million Singaporeans went to the polls on Friday at 1,264 polling stations across the island, after nine busy days of hustings and a calm Cooling-off Day on Thursday.

There were 2,480,760 votes cast for the candidates, while 50,152 votes were rejected – 1.98 per cent of votes cast. Voter turnout was over 93 per cent of eligible voters.

Many Singaporeans decided to have an early start to their public holiday and long weekend, with long queues seen at polling stations at 8am as some faced issues with the voter e-registration system.

Several polling stations had queues of about 200 people at one point, according to data from the VoteQ website, which voters could check to see the queue status of their polling stations.

The Elections Department put out an advisory at 8.40am to encourage voters to cast their ballots in the afternoon, and queues eased by lunchtime.

It seemed that the queues did not deter Singaporeans who preferred to vote early, with more than half of the votes cast by noon, after only a third of polling hours had passed.

By 5pm, about 85 per cent of voters had voted.

Friday’s election saw several firsts – the use of a new X-stamp, meant to be an improvement over the X-pen from the 2020 General Election, as well as the trial of mobile polling stations at 31 nursing homes islandwide that made it easier for over 4,000 elderly voters to exercise their right to vote.

Voters abroad also turned up at 10 overseas polling stations to cast their ballots, with a looming typhoon not discouraging those living in Hong Kong.

This election also featured postal voting for the first time, which over 3,400 overseas voters registered for. Their envelopes had to be postmarked before Polling Day in Singapore, and must reach the Returning Officer by Sept 11.

All the overseas votes will be counted at 9am on Sept 12 at the Elections Department premises in Novena.

This election also saw the use of the new ePoll cards via the Singpass app, meaning that voters could turn up at polling stations with just their mobile phones as they could also use the digital NRIC in the app to prove their identity.

Queues were virtually non-existent as evening fell on Friday, with the last of the voters trickled in to the polling stations.

Polls closed at 8pm and counting began, with ballot boxes sealed and transported to counting centres where the ballots were poured out and sorted by candidate.

After the count, the ballot papers were sealed back into boxes and transported to safe custody at the Supreme Court before they are destroyed at an incineration plant six months later.