1993 Singaporean presidential election


The Singaporean presidential election of 1993 was the first contested presidential election held in Singapore, as president had previously been elected by Parliament. Polling day was 28 August 1993, just before the end of president Wee Kim Wee's term on 31 August. The writ of election was issued on 4 August 1993, with the Nomination day and Polling Day adjourned on 18 and 28 August 1993, respectively.
Two eligible candidates are Chinese Singaporeans and were issued certificates of eligibility by Singapore's Presidential Elections Committee, and both were nominated on Nomination Day. This was the first contested election and the first presidential race with only two candidates in Singaporean history.
The Returning Officer Ong Kok Min declared Ong Teng Cheong as Singapore's first president-elect, with 58.69% of the valid votes cast but Chua did surprisingly well, garnering 41.3% of the vote. Ong Teng Cheong was inaugurated as the fifth President of Singapore on 1 September 1993.

Background

Constitution Amendments

In January 1991, the Constitution of Singapore was amended to provide for the popular election of the President. The creation of the elected presidency was a major constitutional and political change in Singapore's history as, under the revision, the President is empowered to veto the use of government reserves and appointments to key civil service appointments. He or she can also examine the administration's enforcement of the Internal Security Act and Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, and look into investigations of corruption.
By virtue of transitional provisions in the Singapore Constitution, 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, until Ong took office.

Candidates

Eligible

Declared Ineligible

Declined

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 his Deputy Prime Minister portfolio, his MP for Toa Payoh GRC, and his People's Action Party membership in order to contest in the election. Ong was backed by influential leaders such as then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
However, some members of the Cabinet and the People's Action Party supported Chua, including then-Finance Minister Richard Hu and former Trade Minister, then-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Tony Tan Keng Yam. Workers' Party members J B Jeyaretnam and Tan Soo Phuan also applied for 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 so that the election would be contested, and 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. But Chua took it to the extreme, urging supporters not to campaign for him. He appeared on TV just twice, and even announced on polling day that Ong was the better candidate. Even so, Chua did surprisingly well, garnering 41.3% of the vote.

Results

The Returning Officer was Ong Kok Min, who was in charge of GE1980, GE1981, GE1984, and GE1988.
!rowspan="2" style="width: 15em" |Candidate
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! Votes
! colspan="2"|Percentage
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