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1993 Singaporean presidential election

← 1989 28 August 1993 1999 →
Registered	1,756,517
Turnout	94.48%
Nominee Ong Teng Cheong Chua Kim Yeow Party Independent Independent Popular vote 952,513 670,358 Percentage 58.69% 41.31%
President before election Wee Kim Wee Independent Elected President Ong Teng Cheong Independent

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Presidential elections were held in Singapore on 28 August 1993. Following amendments to the Constitution in 1991, presidential elections since then are to be directly elected by citizens. Incumbent president Wee Kim Wee, who had been elected by Parliament in 1989, did not seek re-election.

A non-partisan position, the candidates contesting in the election were Ong Teng Cheong and Chua Kim Yeow, 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 (COE) as well as a community certificate to be able to contest in the election as per the eligibility requirements.

The 1993 presidential election was the only presidential election to date with only two candidates. Ong won with 59% of the vote, winning by a record margin and becoming the first president to have received a majority of the popular vote. He was inaugurated on 1 September as the fifth president of Singapore.

Background

Constitution amendments

In January 1991, the Constitution of Singapore was amended to provide for the popular election of the President for a six-year term. The creation of the elected presidency was a major constitutional and political change in Singapore's history. Under the revision, the president has veto powers over the spending of the national reserves, monetary policies and appointments in the civil service, government companies and the statutory boards. The president's veto powers checks the government by preventing the misuse of the national reserves and ensuring that the public service is impartial. The president must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) on matters relating to past reserves and the appointment and removal of key office holders. The president may veto the government's proposals in the following areas:

1. Changes to the investment powers of the Central Provident Fund Board,
2. Restraining orders under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act,
3. Continued detention under the Internal Security Act, and
4. Refusal of investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

There are strict requirements for prospective election candidates, and whether a candidate meets the qualifications or not is decided by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC). In short, 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 requirement also has an automatic track where the candidate has held a chairmanship or CEO position of a company with S$100 million paid-up capital. 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 of the public or private sector automatic track requirements.

By virtue of the transitional provisions in the Constitution of Singapore, Ong's predecessor Wee Kim Wee exercised, performed and discharged all the functions, powers and duties of an elected president as if he had been elected to the office of President by the citizens of Singapore.

Candidates

Eligible

Declared Ineligible

Declined to be candidates

Nomination Day

Candidates needed to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the Presidential Elections Committee, and pay an election deposit of S$18,000, three times that of a Parliamentary candidate, in order to file their nomination papers. Ong had earlier resigned as Deputy Prime Minister, MP for Toa Payoh GRC, and party member of the People's Action Party (PAP) in order to contest in the election. Ong was backed by influential leaders such as Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. One of the assentors for Ong was Halimah Yacob, who would later go on to become the 8th President of Singapore 24 years later.

However, some members of the Cabinet and the PAP supported Chua, including Minister for Finance Richard Hu and Chairman and CEO of OCBC Bank Tony Tan, who would later go on to become the 7th President of Singapore 18 years later in 2011. Workers' Party members J. B. Jeyaretnam and Tan Soo Phuan also applied for the nomination, but were not awarded the Certificate of Eligibility.

Chua's Campaign

Chua was a reluctant candidate and had to be persuaded by the government to stand in, so that the election would not be an uncontested walkover, and at the same time, the electorate could choose between two good candidates.

The 10-day campaign was supposed to be a "gentlemen's election", free of flag-waving and noisy rallies. However, Chua took it to the extreme, unconventionally urging supporters not to campaign for him. He appeared on TV only twice – once avoiding any mention of himself or his views, and even announced on polling day that Ong was the better candidate. Even so, Chua did surprisingly well, garnering 41.3% of the vote, as it is likely that voters who would often not vote for the PAP in general elections settled for Chua.

Results

After polls closed, the Returning Officer Ong Kok Min declared Ong Teng Cheong as Singapore's first president-elect with 58.69% of the valid votes cast at the Singapore Conference Hall.

References

1. Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1999 Reprint).
2. "Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1991 - Singapore Statutes Online".
3. Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (Cap. 167A, 2001 Rev. Ed.).
4. Internal Security Act (Cap. 143, 1985 Rev. Ed.).
5. Singapore Constitution, above, Art. 163(1).
6. "The role of Singapore's Elected President". YouTube. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
7. South China Morning Post, "Voters yearn for real presidential contest, survey finds" p 123, 20 July 1999
8. Seow, Bei Yi (21 August 2016). "Chua Kim Yeow, Singapore's first local accountant-general, dies at age of 90". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
9. South China Morning Post, "Voters yearn for real presidential contest, survey finds" p 123, 9 July 1999
10. "Returning Officer Ong Kok Min announcing result of the first presidential election at Singapore Conference Hall". www.nas.gov.sg. 28 August 1993. Retrieved 5 September 2023.

External links

• Government Gazette on Presidential Elections Committee Elections Department – Singapore
• Singapore Window – Singapore

• Politics
• Singapore

v t e Singaporean presidential elections
Indirect elections	1967 1970 1974 1978 1981 1985 1989
Direct elections	1993 1999‡ 2005‡ 2011 2017‡ 2023
‡ uncontested

v t e Elections and referendums in Singapore
General elections	1948 1951 1955 1959 1963 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1991 1997 2001 2006 2011 2015 2020 2025
By-elections	1948 1952 1957 1961 1965 1966 1967 1970 1977 1979 1981 1992 2012 2013 2016
Presidential elections	1993 1999‡ 2005‡ 2011 2017‡ 2023
Local elections	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1949 (Apr) 1949 (Dec) 1950 1951 1952 1953 1957 1958
Referendums	1962
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• Presidential elections in Singapore
• 1993 elections in Asia
• 1993 in Singapore
• Non-partisan elections