Indian-origin former minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in Singapore wins presidential election

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, an Indian-origin Singapore-born economist, won Singapore's presidential election on Friday, defeating two other Chinese-origin contenders in the country's first contested presidential polls since 2011.

According to a spokesman for the Elections Department, Shanmugaratnam, 66, who held the position of deputy prime minister of Singapore from 2011 to 2019, received 70.4% of the vote, while Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian received 15.7% and 13.88% of the vote, respectively.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Tharman on winning the presidential election. Singaporeans have chosen Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam to be our next president by a decisive margin. As head of state, he will represent us at home and abroad, and exercise custodial powers, including over the reserves and key appointments, he said.

I thank the three candidates for putting themselves forward in this presidential election. I am happy that Singaporeans have been able to exercise the right to vote for our next president, and to focus on what the elected president is about. In this election, both voters and candidates have shown a greater understanding of the roles and duties of the president, which bodes well for Singapore, Lee said.

Tharman formally launched his presidential campaign in July with a pledge to evolve the country's culture to keep it a "shining spot in the world. He joined politics in 2001 and has served in the public sector and ministerial positions with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) for over two decades.