Singaporean presidential election, 1993

The Singaporean presidential election of 1993 was the first presidential election held in Singapore. Polling day was August 28, 1993. Former Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong became Singapore's first directly elected President. He defeated former Accountant-General Chua Kim Yeow, with a vote share of 58.69% to 41.31%.

Constitution Amendments
In January 1991, the Constitution of Singapore was amended to provide for the popular election of the President. The creation of the elected presidency was a major constitutional and political change in Singapore's history as, under the revision, the President is empowered to veto the use of government reserves and appointments to key civil service appointments. He or she can also examine the administration's enforcement of the Internal Security Act and Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, and look into investigations of corruption.

By virtue of transitional provisions in the Singapore Constitution, 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, until Ong took office.

Eligible

 * Ong Teng Cheong, former Deputy Prime Minister
 * Chua Kim Yeow, former Accountant-General

Declared Ineligible

 * J. B. Jeyaretnam, Worker's Party member
 * Tan Soo Phuan, Worker's Party member

Nomination day
Candidates needed to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the Presidential Elections Committee and pay an election deposit of S$18,000 to file their nomination papers. Ong had earlier resigned the deputy prime ministership to contest in the election. Ong was backed by influential leaders such as then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

However, some members of the Cabinet and the People's Action Party supported Chua, including Finance Minister Richard Hu and former Trade Minister and then-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Tony Tan Keng Yam. Workers' Party members J B Jeyaretnam and Tan Soo Phuan also applied for nomination, but were not awarded the Certificate of Eligibility. Nomination day was August 18, 1993, and Polling Day was August 28, 1993.

Chua's Campaign
Chua was a reluctant candidate and had to be persuaded by the Government to stand so that the election would be contested, and the electorate could choose between two good candidates.

The 10-day campaign was supposed to be a "gentlemen's election", free of flag-waving and noisy rallies. But Chua took it to the extreme, urging supporters not to campaign for him. He appeared on TV just 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.