Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian has conveyed his "sincere congratulations" to fellow aspirant Tharman Shanmugaratnam for his "success" in the 2023 Presidential Election.

Speaking to the media at his house on Sep. 1, following the release of the sample count results, Tan wished Tharman the best in meeting future challenges.

"I'm confident you (Tharman) will be elected as the President of Singapore," Tan added.

Tan received 14 per cent of the sample vote count results, while Tharman received 70 per cent.

As for Ng Kok Song, his share of the sample vote count stood at 16 per cent.

Tan: Sample votes for Tharman are "overwhelming"

When a reporter pointed out that he had performed better than the 2011 presidential election based on the sample count results, Tan responded by describing the results for Tharman as "overwhelming".

"So I would think that he deserves my congratulations," he added.

Tan also said, "I expected to do much better. But I think in an election, things are uncertain."

During the 2011 election, Tan came in last of all the candidates, and was the only one who lost his S$48,000 deposit as he only received 4.91 per cent of the total votes.

A presidential candidate will lose their deposit if they do not secure more than 12.5 per cent of votes in an election.

Will "take life easy" and spend more time with grandchildren

Tan also thanked his family members and supporters for their "hard work", citing their efforts on walkabouts, disseminating social media messages, distributing his materials such as posters, volunteering as polling and counting agents, and contributing to his campaign's expenses.

Tan then added that he wanted to "take life easy" and "live a normal life".

"I will spend more time with my grandchildren," he said.

He also said he would continue to do his part in voicing out the "hardship and aspirations" of people through other channels in his free time.

When asked about what he thought did not go his way in the current election, Tan replied, "I would not know, so I think we will have to reflect upon that."

Top image by Mothership