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2011 Singaporean presidential election

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Registered	2,274,773 ( 7.63%)
Turnout	94.80% ( 0.32pp)
Nominee Tony Tan Tan Cheng Bock Party Independent Independent Popular vote 745,693 738,311 Percentage 35.20% 34.85%   Nominee Tan Jee Say Tan Kin Lian Party Independent Independent Popular vote 530,441 104,095 Percentage 25.04% 4.91%
President before election S. R. Nathan Independent Elected President Tony Tan Independent

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Presidential elections were held in Singapore on 27 August 2011. Incumbent president S. R. Nathan, who had been elected unopposed in 1999 and 2005, did not seek re-election. It was the fourth elected Singaporean presidential election, as well as the second to be contested by more than one candidate.

A non-partisan position, the candidates contesting in the election were Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian, 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.

Singaporeans were unusually divided in this election; Tony Tan only received 35.20% of the vote, slightly edging out Tan Cheng Bock by a mere 7,382 votes or 0.35% who received 34.85% – which led to an election recount. The other two candidates, Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian, received 25.04% and 4.91% of the votes respectively, with the latter ultimately losing his election deposit for failing to secure over 12.5% of the total votes cast. As there are no runoff elections if candidates received less than 50% of the total votes cast, Tan was inaugurated as the seventh President of Singapore on 1 September 2011 with a relative majority result.

Background

The president is the head of state of Singapore. Following the Westminster system, the position is largely ceremonial, but enjoys several reserve powers including withholding presidential assent on supply bills and changing or revoking civil service appointments. The current system of holding elections for the presidency began with the 1993 election. Before then, the president was selected by Parliament.

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. Notwithstanding 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.

The presidency, by the rules of the Constitution, requires a nonpartisan candidate/officeholder. However, in this election, three of the four candidates had connections to the dominant People's Action Party, and the fourth contested the recent 2011 general election under the banner of the Singapore Democratic Party.

Moreover, since the amendment of the constitution of electing president in 1991, 2011 was the first year in Singapore's history whereas both a parliamentary and presidential election would occur on the same calendar year.

Parliamentary reform

On 11 March 2010, the Government tabled three bills in the parliament to amend the Constitution, the Presidential Elections Act and the Parliamentary Elections Act. A one-day "cooling-off" day was implemented, during which campaigning was forbidden, with only party political broadcasts allowed. Internet campaigning was also formally legalised as a legitimate means of political campaigning. On 26 April 2010, the amendments to the Constitution were passed by a vote of 74–1 after a three-hour debate on the bill.

Nomination Day for eligible candidates was held on 17 August 2011. Four candidates were issued certificates of eligibility by Singapore's Presidential Elections Committee, and all four were nominated on Nomination Day. At the time of the election, it was the biggest democratic exercise in Singapore, with 2,153,014 local votes and 3,375 overseas votes cast.

Candidates

Eligible

Declared Ineligible

Declined to be candidates

Endorsements

In alphabetical order:

Tan Cheng Bock

Tan Cheng Bock received a formal endorsement from the Singapore Baseball and Softball Association.

Tan Jee Say

Tan Jee Say was endorsed by Nicole Seah from the National Solidarity Party (NSP), as well as Vincent Wijeysingha, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, Steve Chia, and candidate-hopeful Andrew Kuan (who was not awarded a COE). He also received an endorsement from the political website Temasek Review Emeritus.

Tony Tan

As of 20 August 2011, Tony Tan was endorsed by:

• 21 unions (including the Transport and Logistics cluster, the Marine and Machinery Engineering cluster, and the Infocomm and Media cluster) which collectively represent about 112,000 workers
• Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI)
• Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI)
• Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI)
• Federation of Tan Clan Associations with 10,000 members
• Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA)
• Nine Teochew clan associations

Tan Kin Lian

Tan Kin Lian did not receive any group endorsements. He said during a walkabout in Tiong Bahru, "I met so many people here today. They tell me they want to support me, they tell me 'Mr Tan, please don't drop out, give us a chance to vote'. So I want to be endorsed by the people."

Timeline

All the dates and time reflected in this timeline are in Local Singaporean Time (SST).

Candidate participation timeline

Candidate announcement and, if applicable, withdrawal dates are as follows:

Analysis

Various analysts said that while George Yeo is still a PAP member (the Constitution prohibits the president from having party membership), his popularity seems to have survived his defeat at Aljunied GRC. Some analysts noted that should Yeo decide to run, he should be well-suited for the presidency, noting that he has served in various cabinet positions. Others were critical of the speed with which Yeo announced his intention not to contest in future his lost parliamentary seat, his comments about being "temperamentally" unsuited to the presidency, and the likely difficulty of him claiming any independence from the PAP in a contested election.

After Yeo declined to run for the presidency, political analysts said Tony Tan would be one of the more suitable candidates, even though Tan himself had yet to declare his candidacy at that time.

Reaction

Since late June, Minister for Law K. Shanmugam expressed concerns that voters and prospective candidates were confusing or misinterpreting the president's powers, and clarified what the office could and could not do. In August, he said at a forum, "The president can speak on issues only as authorised by the Cabinet” and that “ must follow the advice of the Cabinet in the discharge of his duties." He also said, "If is someone who commands little or no respect of the prime minister, then of course influence will be limited." The then six presidential hopefuls commented on his remarks on the presidential role.

In an e-mail to reporters from the Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in early July, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong praised Tony Tan's performance during his time in Cabinet, and stopping short of an outright endorsement, said that should Tony Tan be elected president, he would be able to unite Singaporeans, and bring honour to the country.

In early August, Minister of National Development Khaw Boon Wan echoed Lee Hsien Loong's sentiments on Tony Tan at a National Day banquet in Sembawang, stating that he will be an excellent president, and make the nation proud. In what could be construed as an endorsement, Khaw publicly wished Tony Tan will win the presidency.

In a break with the past, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) President and Member of Parliament Lim Swee Say said the NTUC will not force all its constituent trades union to endorse one candidate, and that the constituent trades union may endorse any candidate as they desire.

Nomination Day and Campaigning

The earliest instance of its widespread campaigning first surfaced on 17 June when Tan Cheng Bock visited across various bazaars to engage with voters, according to Shin Min Daily News., then with young voters at a local youth park on 1 August, and across at least 10 neighbourhoods as of 7 August. Elsewhere, other candidates had also engaged through voters across Singapore, including Tan Kin Lian, who reportedly travelled to Batam to meet with Singaporeans.

On 8 July, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong issued a statement on presidential campaigns. Campaigning will mostly be television-based due to its reach, and each candidate had to participate in two presidential candidate broadcasts (PCB), both being 10-minute blocks of free airtime which aired on 18 and 26 August. Moreover, Mediacorp would produce a series of programme on the candidates on 20 August, and its televised "Meet the Candidates" forum on the 23rd.

Under the constitution, each presidential candidate's spending limit is S$0.30 per voter or S$600,000, whichever is greater. The penalty for overspending is a S$2,000 fine and a three-year disqualification for running in elections. The amount was revealed to be S$682,431; Cheng Bock spent the most at $585,045, followed by Tony's $503,070, Jee Say's $162,337, and Kin Lian's $70,912.

The deadline for the applications for Certificate of Eligibility happened on 6 August, and four candidates had been granted those certificates on 11 August. They were then successfully nominated on 17 August and unveiled their respective slogans and symbols were revealed, as follows:

Candidate	Symbol	Description	Campaign Slogan
Tan Cheng Bock		A palm tree, based on an Arecaceae.	Think Singaporeans First
Tan Jee Say		A white heart-shaped icon.	Heart of the Nation
Tony Tan		A pair of glasses.	Confidence for the Future
Tan Kin Lian		A red chatbox with a white hand.	Voice of the People

Voting

The Writ of Election was issued on 3 August, adjourning the polling day to be on 27 August. Not counting by-elections, this was the second national election to occur within the same calendar year and had the narrowest gap in-between the last national election, with the parliamentary election occurred three months prior.

Elections Department announced some new implementations for this election, where voters could print out their polling cards from their website if they do not receive them in the mail. Nomination Day also added a recommendation to provide a recent passport photo with a size of no more than 2 MB and 400 x 514 pixels, which they will be printed onto the ballot papers for better identification.

In the preceding general election, about 290,500 voters (out of 2,350,873) have their names expunged from the voting list due to abstention, where voting is mandatory under the constitution. At the time of the announcement, its electorate has been lowered by 76,100 voters down to 2,274,773, and that around 71,000 voters had since reinstated from the list before the Writ of Election was issued, as restoration of names from the voters list are suspended upon the issuance of the writ.

Results

At about 10.30 pm, around two and a half hours after polls closed, Tan Kin Lian conceded, and reiterating that he was disappointed about the results after visiting various counting stations and added he might forfeit his S$48,000 election deposit but expressed that he gained the experience of its contest and believed he could do even better. He hinted that the election "will be a tough fight between the top two candidates", but declined naming who were the top two.

At 1.19 am on 28 August, ELD announced on a statement that they had begun an election recount as the Returning Officer Yam Ah Mee conclude that the top two candidates, Tony Tan and Tan Cheng Bock, had a margin of less than 2% during their initial counting.

The recount went for around three hours before results were declared at about 4.23 am SST, where Tony Tan was declared president-elect with 35.19% of the votes, leading by a 0.34% margin ahead of Tan Cheng Bock, or 7,269 votes. Tan Kin Lian, who polled under 5% of the 2,115,188 valid votes cast, had his election deposit of S$48,000 forfeited.

Including overseas votes that were collected on 31 August, the final vote tally were as follows:

Post-election events

Reactions of candidates

Subsequently, Tony Tan made his thank you speech at Toa Payoh Stadium, and pledged to work for all Singaporeans. He also thanked the other three candidates who "have campaigned with vigour, giving Singaporeans a choice". At a subsequent press conference that afternoon, Tony Tan emphasised that the president works for all Singaporeans and he will not be an "ivory tower President", just as President S.R. Nathan was not. When asked his thoughts about the tight race and his winning margin of just 0.34 percentage points over his closest rival Tan Cheng Bock, Tony Tan said his results were "decisive" in Singapore's first past-the-post system.

Subsequently, Tan Cheng Bock held a press conference in the afternoon as well. Speaking to the media at his first news conference following the presidential election results, Tan Cheng Bock said he wanted to continue unifying Singaporeans. He planned to continue engaging Singaporeans through social media such as his Facebook page and blog by making comments and suggestions. He said this was where the majority of youth lie and he believes they need to be better informed. Tan Cheng Bock announced his intention to return to his medical practice and did not rule out the possibility of running again for the next presidential election in 2017.

As for the third placed candidate Tan Jee Say, he released a statement in the afternoon of 28 August and said he looked forward to Tony Tan performing the duties and responsibilities of the office of president in a fair and honourable manner. He also congratulated Tan Cheng Bock and Tan Kin Lian "for their earnest campaign". Earlier in the morning after the results were announced, Tan Jee Say said although he had lost the election, it was still a "victory of hearts" in a press conference because by standing up to be counted, a voice was given to Singaporeans that will continue to be heard. When asked whether he would rejoin the Singapore Democratic Party, he said he had not made up his mind to do so.

Reaction of the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in a statement released from his office soon after the declaration of results, said the election has been an intensely fought election, and the result was very close. Lee said both Tony Tan and Tan Cheng Bock (who had the next highest number of votes) conveyed strong unifying messages and declared their intention to work closely with the government. Both had long records of public service but was "reassuring that Singaporean voters recognised and valued their strengths, as well as their inclusive approach". He called Tony Tan to congratulate him on his election and assure him of "his government's full cooperation" and also called Tan Cheng Bock to thank him and his supporters for "having fought an effective and dignified campaign".

Calls for voting reform

The Reform Party, an opposition political party, released a statement on its website on 28 August. While congratulating Tony Tan on his election, it stated that a two-round system should be implemented in place of first-past-the-post voting. It proposed that a runoff election should be held a week later after the first round in future elections. In addition, the statement added: "the President should unite Singaporeans of all political persuasions and views. To do this he needs to be elected by a clear majority of votes cast and not just on an almost statistically insignificant difference between him and the runner-up."

Counting of overseas votes

On 31 August, the 5,504 overseas votes were counted. Out of the 3,375 votes cast, a combined 3,352 votes were valid. Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian each receiving 1,296, 1,183, 709, and 164 votes, respectively (the voting percentages for the overseas votes were 38.66%, 35.29%, 21.15% and 4.89%, respectively). The overall percentage of the vote share inclusive of overseas votes were virtually unchanged.

Returning Officer Yam Ah Mee thanked the more than 20,000 election officials who participated in the exercise from Nomination Day to the Polling Day to the counting process; in addition the efficiency of the officials allowed over two million local votes to be counted. Both Tony Tan and Tan Cheng Bock, and a representative for Tan Jee Say, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, turned up at the People's Association Headquarters on the afternoon to witness the counting.

Tony Tan thanked all the overseas voters who turned up to cast their vote while Tan Cheng Bock expressed that he was pleasantly surprised at the result as he expected Tony Tan to garner a higher percentage of overseas votes.

Presidential inauguration

At 7.30pm SST of 1 September, outgoing president S.R. Nathan received his final presidential salute from members of the Singapore Armed Forces at the Istana, before he left office with his wife Urmila Nandey to retire to his home in East Coast. Later, Tony Tan arrived with his wife Mary Chee and at 8.00pm SST, Tan was sworn in as president at the Istana, in the presence of the diplomatic corps, the Cabinet, selected guests and Members of Parliament. Tan said in his speech: "I will wield this 'second key' with utmost care. Our reserves have been painstakingly built up over decades, and should not be compromised. Our government must continue to live within its means, and only draw on past reserves in an exceptional crisis - like the one we faced in 2008. I therefore welcome the Prime Minister's assurance that the government will continue to be responsible with our finances. I will play my role to safeguard our reserves, so that they can continue to give us confidence in tough times." This was in reference to the custodial powers of the Singapore presidency, in which the president acts as a fiscal guardian to the national reserves. Tan added he can be both a resource and a symbol and would offer the Prime Minister his confidential advice on government policies and engage all Singaporeans to understand their interests and concerns.

Margin of victory

According to Singapore Elections, an archive of Singapore election results, a post made on its Facebook page stated that the presidential election of 2011 "has established a new record of the second-narrowest percentage margin in history, after River Valley in the 1959 elections (margin of around 0.05%) and beating Sepoy Lines in the 1957 city elections (margin of around 0.4%)". In comparison, the margin of victory for Tony Tan was only 0.35% over his closest rival Tan Cheng Bock.

References

Notes

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v t e Singaporean presidential elections
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v t e Elections and referendums in Singapore
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