PE2023 ballots and documents set for destruction on 2 March

SINGAPORE: The Elections Department (ELD) announced on Monday (19 February) that all ballot papers and related documents from the 2023 Presidential Election (PE2023), in adherence to the Presidential Elections Act 1991, will be destroyed in March.

The materials, currently secured at the Supreme Court, will be transported to the Tuas South Incineration Plant for destruction on 2 March, according to an ELD statement.

As per the Act, these election materials are required to be sealed and stored safely for six months, after which they must be destroyed unless otherwise directed by the President.

The purpose is to maintain the confidentiality of the vote, as explained by ELD.

The department will reach out to candidates or their representatives interested in witnessing the destruction process.

Singapore held its presidential election on 1 September 2023, the first poll of its kind since 2011.

The previous presidential election in 2017 saw a walkover victory for the then-elected President Halimah Yacob after her two potential competitors were disqualified for not meeting the criteria as private candidates.

The election results revealed Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam as the winner with 70.41% of the vote.

The other candidates, Former GIC chief Ng Kok Song and former NTUC Income chief  Mr Tan Kin Lian received 15.72% and 13.87% respectively in the three-cornered race.

PE2023 aw more than S$1.1 million expended across the campaigns of the three candidates, with significant investments funnelled into advertising.

Mr Tharman topped the spending charts at S$738,717, dwarfing the expenditures of the other two candidates.

Mr Ng spent S$312,131, and Mr Tan spent S$71,366.

Over 2.5 million Singaporeans participated in the election at 1,264 polling stations across the island, following nine busy days of campaigning.

The total votes cast for the candidates were 2,480,760, with 1.98% (50,152 votes) rejected.

The voter turnout exceeded 93% of eligible voters.

Additionally, 10 overseas polling stations facilitated voting for Singaporeans abroad, and for the first time, postal voting was introduced, with over 3,400 overseas voters registering for this option.