Singapore’s former deputy prime minister Tony Tan has won the country’s presidential election by a narrow margin. The result was announced after a recount between Tony Tan and fellow front-runner Tan Cheng Bock.
Tony Tan, 71, was seen as the preferred candidate of the governing People’s Action Party, which has run Singapore since independence. Singapore’s presidency is a largely ceremonial position. The election was the first of its kind for 18 years.
Election officials said Tony Tan won by just 7,269 votes out of just over two million valid votes cast in Saturday’s four-way race.
The Elections Department ordered a recount after the first tally showed the two front-runners were less than two percentage points apart. The four candidates all shared the same surname, Tan.
… Singapore – a former British colony with a Westminster-style parliamentary system – instituted the position of president in 1965 when it became a republic. Presidential candidates run as individuals because Singapore’s head of state is supposed to be non-partisan.
Full Article: BBC News – Singapore presidential election won by Tony Tan.