Landslide 70.4 per cent victory for president-elect Tharman
THE STRAITS TIMES
The sample count released at about 10.40pm on Sept 1 had shown Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam leading with 70 per cent.
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 rivals Mr Ng Kok Song and Mr Tan Kin Lian received 15.72 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 had shown 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 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’s a vote of optimism that we can progress together,” he said.
The sample count released at about 10.40pm on Sept 1 had shown Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam leading with 70 per cent. 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 rivals Mr Ng Kok Song and Mr Tan Kin Lian received 15.72 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 had shown 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 Food Centre shortly after that, Mr Tharman said he was “humbled by the strong endorsement that Singaporeans have given to me”.
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.
Overseas voters 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 for the first time postal voting, 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 e-Poll cards via the Singpass app, meaning that voters could turn up at polling stations without carrying anything but their 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 and the last of the voters trickled in to the 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.
“I believe that the vote for me and what I stand for is a vote of confidence in Singapore. It’s a vote of optimism that we can progress together,” he said.
