Back In The Day: Today In 1993, Singapore Held Its First Presidential Election
Thirty-one years ago today (28 Aug), Singaporeans cast their votes at the polls and elected Ong Teng Cheong as Singapore's fifth President. It was the first time citizens in the Lion City were given the power to directly vote for our head of state.
How it all began
Let’s rewind to 1984, when the idea of an elected presidency was first introduced by Singapore's founding father and first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. The aim: to safeguard our national reserves and protect the integrity of public services.
Fast forward a few years to 1991, and the system was officially legislated: the elected President would hold office for a fixed term of six years.
Wee Kim Wee, the incumbent President at the time, was the first to exercise these new powers. He was the last President to be appointed by Parliament.
The first Presidential Election (PE)
The first election had two candidates: 1) Ong Teng Cheong, who had stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the People’s Action Party (PAP) to run, and 2) Chua Kim Yeow, the former accountant-general and retired executive chairman of the POSB.
It was a close race, but Ong Teng Cheong won the election, becoming Singapore’s first popularly elected President on 1 Sep 1993 with 58.7% of the votes.
Curious about what happens during the PE? Our writers discuss their experience voting in the most recent PE last year.
What does our President do, exactly?
Besides inspecting the parade at NDP and hosting dignitaries, the President has the power to veto government spending of past reserves. They also have the power to veto key appointments in key public offices.
And while the President doesn’t get involved in day-to-day politics, they can step in during certain key situations, like safeguarding religious harmony or ensuring anti-corruption measures are enforced. Click here to find out more about the responsibilities of the President of Singapore, and find out the reason we have both a President and a Prime Minister.
Presidents since 1993
Since Ong Teng Cheong’s time in office, we’ve seen a few more presidents take the helm, including SR Nathan, who was elected unopposed twice, and Tony Tan Keng Yam, who won the 2011 election. And, of course, there's President Halimah Yacob, who became Singapore’s first female President in 2017 – one of many amazing firsts by Singapore women.
Singapore's current President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, was elected in Sep 2023. Since taking office, he has made state visits to Brunei, Italy, and Estonia. On 15 May this year, he appointed Lawrence Wong as the Republic's 4th Prime Minister.
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