The S$40,500 election deposit amount for the 2023 Singapore presidential election is derived from the general election deposit amount required of candidates.

Formula for calculating presidential S$40,500 election deposit

The formula to compute the general election deposit has been simplified since the 2020 general election.

It is now the fixed monthly allowance payable to an elected Member of Parliament for the month immediately before the date of dissolution of Parliament, rounded to the nearest S$500.

Since the current fixed monthly allowance is S$13,750, the election deposit has been rounded down to S$13,500.

Previously, the computation for the GE deposit was a sum equal to 8 per cent of the total allowances that an MP gets in the preceding calendar year, rounded to the nearest S$500.

This worked out to S$14,500 per candidate for the 2015 General Election.

In short, the deposit per candidate for the past few elections were:

General election 2011: S$16,000

General election 2015: S$14,500

By-election 2016: S$13,500

General election 2020: S$13,500

For Group Representative Constituencies, the deposit amount is multiplied by the number of MPs in that GRC.

Presidential election deposit three times the general election deposit

For presidential elections, the deposit amount is tripled.

In the last contested presidential election in 2011, the figure was S$48,000, which is triple of S$16,000.

In the 2017 elections, which went uncontested as Halimah Yacob emerged as the only viable candidate, the figure was S$43,500, which is triple of S$14,500.

Candidates who fail to secure at least one-eighth — 12.5 per cent — of the valid votes in their constituencies will have their deposit forfeited.

In an electoral system, the purpose of the deposit is to reduce the prevalence of candidates or parties with no realistic chance of winning a seat.

If the candidate does not achieve the refund threshold, the deposit is forfeited.

Where do forfeited election deposits go?

In the 2011 presidential election, candidate Tan Kin Lian lost his S$48,000 deposit as his number of votes — 4.91 per cent of the total 2,274,773 votes — failed to garner more than one-eighth (12.5 per cent) of the total number of votes cast.

The forfeited deposit was paid to the consolidated fund, which is described as analogous to a bank account held by the government, where the revenues of Singapore are paid into and out of which government expenditures are made.

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