SINGAPORE – Countries including the United States, India and Ukraine have congratulated Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam on being elected to be Singapore’s ninth president.

Mr Tharman, 66, won the presidential election with a vote share of 70.4 per cent in the early hours of Saturday. The other two candidates, Mr Ng Kok Song and Mr Tan Kin Lian, both 75, received 15.72 per cent and 13.88 per cent of the vote, respectively.

This was the first contested presidential election since 2011. 

In a statement dated Sept 1, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “The United States and Singapore share a longstanding and robust partnership built on a foundation of mutual respect, shared values and common interests.

“We look forward to working closely with President-elect Shanmugaratnam and the people of Singapore to further strengthen the enduring bonds of friendship and cooperation between our two nations.”

Mr Miller also thanked President Halimah Yacob for her contributions to the bilateral ties between US and Singapore during her “historic tenure” as Singapore’s first female president.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr Tharman on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership,” Mr Modi said.

The European Union’s Ambassador to Singapore, Ms Iwona Piorko, also posted her congratulations on X and said the EU looked forward to furthering cooperation and relations through a “deepening partnership”.

On the same platform, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Singapore Kateryna Zelenko sent Mr Tharman her congratulations and said: “We look forward to further good cooperation and friendship.”

On Facebook, Italy’s Ambassador to Singapore, Mr Dante Brandi, posted a photo of Mr Tharman attending a summit in Venice in 2021 and said that he looked forward to deepening the friendship between the two countries.

On the same platform, the High Commission of Canada to Singapore thanked President Halimah for her contributions to the relationship between both countries, and said it looked forward to working with Mr Tharman to strengthen bilateral ties.

• Additional reporting by Ian Cheng