Speaking to the media after the sample count was announced, Mr Tharman said he was “truly humbled” by the strong endorsement by Singaporeans.
“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.”
Mr Tharman said he would honour the trust placed in him and “respect all Singaporeans for the views they’ve expressed”, including those who did not vote for him.
Mr Ng meanwhile told reporters he was conceding the election to Mr Tharman ahead of the final tally “because I do not want to keep all of you from your bedtime”.
“As far as I’m concerned, there is no need to wait a few more hours in order to get the final result. The result is clear,” he said.
“The relatively low percentage of votes that I obtained was the price that I really need (to) pay in order to give Singaporeans the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. That was the ultimate objective when I set out to stand for the presidency, and I’m glad that I’ve achieved that goal.”
Mr Tan however said he would only concede defeat when the final result comes out.
“But Mr Tharman has certainly got an overwhelming lead as of now … I’m confident that he will be elected as President of Singapore,” he said.
Voters started casting their ballots for Singapore’s ninth President at 8am on Friday, though queues were already forming ahead of the opening time at some polling stations.
Bottlenecks built up over the first hour of voting, but subsided by mid-morning as ELD ironed out “technical issues with the e-registration system”.
By noon, more than half of all eligible voters had turned up to cast their ballots.