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[1] 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.[2] 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:
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,[5] 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.
Application for the Certificate of Eligibility Accepted.
Chua Kim Yeow
Chua served as the first auditor-general of Singapore. He was a reluctant candidate and had to be persuaded by the government to stand for the presidential election and avoid an uncontested walkover.
The Secretary-General of the Workers' Party, he became the first opposition politician since Singapore's independence in 1965, when he won Anson SMC in a by-election. He was re-elected during the 1984 general election, but lost his seat in Parliament in 1986 following a conviction for falsely accounting the party's funds. His presidential eligibility forms was rejected.
Application for the Certificate of Eligibility rejected.
Tan Soo Phuan
A member of the opposition Workers' Party. He submitted his presidential eligibility forms but were ruled ineligible.
Declined to be candidates
Wee Kim Wee — the incumbent and fourth president of Singapore, he decided not to seek re-election and retired after his second term had ended.
Chia Shi Teck — he was a nominated Member of Parliament who threw his hat in to help avert an uncontested walkover, but subsequently withdrew his application after Chua Kim Yeow stood in.
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.[6]
However, some members of the Cabinet and the PAP supported Chua, including Minister for Finance Richard Hu and Chairman and CEO of OCBC BankTony Tan, who would later go on to become the 7th President of Singapore 18 years later in 2011. Workers' Party members J. B. Jeyaretnam[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
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