Voters will head to the elections tomorrow to select the next President of Singapore. Who is the frontrunner for the job?
Tomorrow on September 1, Singaporeans will head to the ballot boxes to cast their vote for the city-state’s next President to succeed incumbent Halimah Yacob. Unlike the last presidential election in 2017, there will be more than one option with three official candidates admitted: Ng Kok Song, Tan Kin Lian and Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Of the three, Tharman, the former Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chair, may be the strongest figure due to close relations with the ruling government and ample publicity.
People’s Action Party
A major tailwind for Tharman is his close relationship with the People’s Action Party (PAP) – the world's longest, uninterrupted ruling party amongst modern democracies (and the second longest ever in history). Tharman has had longstanding involvement with the PAP since being elected to its central executive committee in December 2022. He resigned from his role in the party in July to enter the presidential race.
«Mr. Tharman is the equivalent of what I would call a PAP nuclear option, meaning you can’t think of a better winning formula for the PAP,» said Zulkifli Baharudin, a political observer and former nominated member of parliament in a «Straits Times» report.
«It’s important for any government to endorse a candidate which, while he’s supposed to be independent in his job, is still someone they can work with and win the election.»
Public Reputation
In addition, Tharman is also a well-known figure amongst the public and is generally viewed favourably. According to a 2016 poll, Singaporeans chose Tharman as their top choice to be the city-state’s fourth Prime Minster.
Nonetheless, his track record is not flawless. While working for the MAS in 1992, Tharman was accused of leaking Singapore’s economic growth rate for the second quarter of that year before it was officially published and was fined S$1,500 ($1,100).
Other Candidates
In contrast, Tharman’s competitors face an uphill battle. Age is a shared factor with both now being 75 years old (Tharman is 66 years old). Should either competing candidate win the election, he will be 81 years old by the end of the six-year presidential term.
With regards to former GIC chief investment officer Ng, he is facing popularity challenges due to a romantic relationship with a woman who is 30 years younger. And on ex-NTUC CEO Tan, critics point to the fact that he will test voters for the second time after running for President in 2011 and securing, by far, the least amount of votes (less than 5 percent).
