'Tharman effect' a key factor behind landslide win: Analysts

President-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam's landslide victory is a reflection of his personal popularity, and showed that voters did not treat this election as a referendum on the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), said political analysts.

- Natasha Ann Zachariah

They said the former senior minister's personal standing and clout among Singaporeans garnered him the lion's share of the votes and a resounding mandate to be the Republic's ninth head of state.

In the presidential election on Friday, Mr Tharman, 66, secured 70.4 per cent of the vote while his fellow candidates Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian, both 75, received 15.72 per cent and 13.88 per cent, respectively.

More than 2.5 million Singaporeans went to the polls on Friday at 1,264 polling stations across the island.

During the hustings, political analysts noted that the endorsements Mr Tan had received from various opposition politicians could lead voters to see the presidential election as a proxy for the next general election.

The margin by which Mr Tharman won was thus surprising and unexpected for some analysts, given recent scandals that plagued the PAP in the last few weeks that they felt could have tainted his candidacy.

Mr Tharman had resigned from the PAP and his posts in Cabinet in July to run for president, after 22 years in politics.

Dr Leong Chan-Hoong, head of policy development, evaluation and data analytics at Kantar Public, said he was surprised that Mr Tharman obtained a large share of the votes, given the scandals such as a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau probe into Transport Minister S. Iswaran and an extramarital affair between former Speaker of Parliament Tan ChuanJin and former Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui.

He also noted that Mr Ng had a credible track record, having been the former chief investment officer of GIC.

The results show voters looked past the issues that plagued the PAP and focused on Mr Tharman's credentials, Dr Leong said.

"If we look at what happened in the last couple of months... you would expect Mr Tharman's political background and his affiliation to the ruling party to have been a liability," he added.