Singaporeans voted in the city-state’s first contested presidential election in over a decade on Friday. 

 

The election is being closely monitored as a measure of support for the ruling party following a series of political scandals. 

 

The president’s role is largely ceremonial, but the position has strict requirements and oversees the city’s financial reserves, with the power to veto certain measures and approve anti-corruption investigations.

 

According to the constitution, the presidency is a non-partisan post, but political lines were drawn in the election to replace incumbent Halimah Yacob, who was elected unopposed in 2017. 

 

The government is run by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of the People’s Action Party, which has been in power since 1959. 

 

Observers believe that the election could indicate PAP support or discontent ahead of general elections in 2025, following recent scandals such as a corruption investigation into the transport minister and the resignations of two PAP legislators.

 

Voters queued in long, orderly lines at polling centers without the noisy atmosphere that can accompany elections elsewhere. 

 

The leading candidate is former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who resigned from the PAP before running for president. The 66-year-old economist is widely seen as having government support and faced questions about his independence during the campaign