Halimah Yacob's walkover in Presidential Election (PE) 2017 has sealed the fact for now (or at least the next six years) that Singapore has only had two contested PEs in its history -- in 1993 and 2011.

The one in 1993 marked the first ever open PE in Singapore. That year, Ong Teng Cheong became the first President to be elected by popular vote.

For those of you who wished for or wonder what a PE contest is like, we throwback to Singapore's first ever PE.

Aug. 18, 1993, Nomination Day

Unlike in 2011, where four candidates (also known as the "Tan Quartet") qualified to run in the PE, the one in 1993 only had two candidates: Ong Teng Cheong and Chua Kim Yeow.

Both were highly qualified men.

Prior to running for president, Ong Teng Cheong served as deputy prime minister and was also Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). His opponent, Chua Kim Yeow, was Singapore's accountant-general for 18 years before he took on key roles in the banking industry.

The Nomination Centre was the Singapore Conference Hall (SCH) and this was what it looked like on that day:

Supporters gathered outside the SCH:

Ong Teng Cheong's supporters also came prepared with banners:

And Ong had quite a few hands to shake:

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Aug. 28, 1993: Polling day

Polling day is not an event that Singaporeans will experience in 2017. However, in 1993, over 1.7 million people turned up to cast their vote.

Ong, along with his wife and son, arrived at National Junior College to cast their votes for the PE:

Chua Kim Yeow and his wife cast their votes at Pei Hwa School:

Then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Mrs Lee voted at River Valley Community Centre:

Then-PM Goh Chok Tong was photographed voting at St. Margaret's Secondary:

Aug. 28, 1993: Counting and results

The Singapore Conference Hall was the principal counting centre, and many supporters turned up with banners. Many of these supporters were from trade unions:

When counting was completed, it was announced that Ong Teng Cheong won 58.69% of the popular vote.

After the announcement of his victory, Ong Teng Cheong greeted the crowd. He was joined by his wife, Ling Siew May:

Ong Teng Cheong served as Singapore's President from 1993 to 1999.

Read: 1st popularly elected president Ong Teng Cheong was ridiculously photogenic in his prime

Top photo adapted from NAS.

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