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Singapore presidential poll: counting begins in vote viewed as test of PAP support

arifnsn September 1, 2023

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Singaporeans voted on Friday to decide a three-way presidential election that some observers said could prove to be a bellwether on support for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) following its rare spate of internal scandals.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his wife Jane Ittogi leave after casting their ballots on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Ng Kok Song, 75, a former chief investment officer in the state investor GIC, was seen as the next most palatable to the republic’s middle-ground voters.

Tan Kin Lian, also 75, and a former chief executive of the state-linked insurer NTUC, gained endorsements from a handful of opposition politicians, and was described as the preferred choice of voters hoping to use the contest to show their disaffection with the PAP.

Ng Kok Song and fiancée Sybil Lau arrive at a polling station to cast his vote. Photo: AFP

Vote counting begins

The Elections Department said vote counting would begin after the end of the polling period. As was the case in 2020’s legislative election, mechanical counting machines – similar to those used to count and handle banknotes – will be used to raise the efficiency of the counting process.

The department said more than 2.3 million people, or 85 per cent of eligible voters, had cast their votes by 5pm.

More than 8 in 10 eligible voters had cast their ballots by 5pm, the Elections Department said. Photo: AFP

Polling stations were open from 8am to 8pm. Voters also cast their ballots in 10 overseas polling stations, including Hong Kong, where voting went ahead despite the hoisting of the No 8 and No 9 storm signal.

The department is expected to release a sample count between 10pm and 11pm, that could offer an early indication of the election outcome.

A sample of 100 votes is taken from each of the 1,364 polling stations for the early count, and the department has cautioned that the final result could be different.

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