Updated on Aug 18, 7.30 p.m.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam receives qualification certificate for Presidential candidature

Indian-origin candidate for the 2023 Singapore presidential elections, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and two others, have been issued the mandatory certificates of eligibility for Singapore's presidential election slated to take place on Sept 1, the elections department said in a statement today.

Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam is set to place his bid for the upcoming presidential elections in Singapore. The 66-year-old has previously been part of the cabinet since 2011 and has served as Minister of education and finance while holding the chair of deputy prime minister until 2019. Shanmugaratnam entered the presidential race with an initiative encouraging the motto 'Respect for All’.

Singapore’s Indian-origin presidential candidate

After serving in the government for nearly 22 years, Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam is set to run for president of the island country of Singapore. Shanmugaratnam has had a significant background in the field of economics, and his former appointments trace back to being a senior economist at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the chief executive of the monetary authority of Singapore in 1998.

Shanmugaratnam’s Indian origins are tied to Tamil Nadu, where his grandfather hails from. The 66-year-old is currently married to Jane Ittogi, a social worker.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s election campaign

Singapore’s former Minister of education and finance kicked off his campaign by addressing a press conference on July 26. Shanmugaratnam advocated for a change in society and pitched the idea of ‘respect for all’ while commencing his campaign.

The 66-year-old leader promised in his campaign that Singaporean society could prosper if different sections, classes, and ideologies of people were respected justly. He expressed the need for on-the-ground initiatives to be taken, and work won’t be carried out with mere policymaking.

Singapore Elections 2023

Singapore elections will be carried out after nearly 12 years since the country’s current president, Halimah Yacob, decided not to extend her presidential term, which ends in Sept this year.

The elections will take place on Sept 23 this year, which will see a few other candidates opposing Shanmugaratnam’s bid for president. An entrepreneur named George Goh, and Ng Kok Song, former chief investment officer at Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, are said to be potential candidates in the upcoming elections alongside Tharman. Both of them have expressed strong opposition to Shanmugaratnam’s past association with the ruling government party, the People’s Action Party (PAP).

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