New Delhi

Indian origin leader and business czar Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected Singapore's next President. He secured a landslide victory with 70.4 percent of the votes and emerged victories way ahead of his two Chinese-origin rivals.

The final result, announced by the returning officer shortly after midnight on Saturday (Sep 2), put Mr Ng Kok Song in second place with 15.72 per cent, followed by Mr Tan Kin Lian, who received 13.88 per cent.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam 66, has been a Deputy Prime Minister and a minister and is a well known business leader of Singapore.

Singapore is a parliamentary democracy and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the head of government. President, like in India, has a ceremonial role.

Tharman has been a popular politician, having scored several victories in general elections.

Indian Prime Minister narendra Modi congratulated him on X.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Tharman Shanmugaratnam on being elected as the President of Singapore.

"I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership." tweets PM Modi https://t.co/r7llIyNTiA pic.twitter.com/E8CgEvJLYd

— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2023

rliamentary elections, including the biggest margin of votes in the general election in 2020 as a PAP (People's Action Party) member.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam earlier addressed his supporters and said that he was "truly humbled by the strong endorsement" Singaporeans have given him.

"I’m humbled by this vote - it is not just a vote for me, it is a vote for Singapore’s future, a future of optimism and solidarity. That’s what it really is. My campaign was one of optimism and solidarity, and I believe that’s what Singaporeans want," Tharman Shanmugaratnam said.

Analysing the election result, Associate Professor Eugene Tan from Singapore Management University's (SMU) School of Law said, “We're looking at more than two-thirds of Singaporeans who voted for Mr Tharman, which means that he would have got votes from people across the political spectrum, although this is not a political contest, to be clear. More significantly, this is really the uniting of Singaporeans."

Thurman said, "I believe that the vote for me and what I stand for is a vote of confidence in Singapore," he said. "It's a vote of optimism for a future in which we can progress together and support each other as Singaporeans."

Later, he posted on Facebook about this: "It can, and must, be a future of deeper respect for each other, regardless of backgrounds and educational achievements," he said. "A future of closer interactions between our different faiths and cultures, so that we deepen our multicultural identity. A future of solidarity even as we hold to diverse views, which is natural in our democracy.