On Friday, the former top minister won a record 70.4% of the votes, comfortably beating two other candidates in the country’s first contested presidential election in more than a decade.
Tharman Shanmugaratnam was always the clear front-runner. Urbane, well-spoken and intelligent, he is highly regarded by Singaporeans and consistently polls as one of the island’s most popular politicians. Which was why, when he announced several months ago he was quitting the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to run for president, many Singaporeans were baffled by what they viewed as a waste of his potential.
