Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian received 13.88 per cent of votes in the 2023 election.

As a result, he kept his election deposit of S$40,500.

For a candidate to retain their deposit, they must get more than one-eighth of the number of votes cast in an election in Singapore.

About 2.71 million eligible citizens head to the polls to cast their ballots for the first time in 12 years to appoint the ninth President of Singapore.

A total of 344,292 citizens cast their votes for Tan in this election.

2011 election loss

This is the second time Tan contested in a presidential election.

In 2011, Tan came in last in the four-sided presidential race.

He garnered 104,095 votes out of 2,274,773 votes cast, which amounts to 4.91 per cent of votes.

Tan, who was the only one who lost his S$48,000 deposit, said he was "disappointed" by the results.

On top of that, he spent around S$60,000 to S$70,000 on his campaign, reported Yahoo News.

The forfeited deposit was paid to the consolidated fund, which is analogous to a bank account held by the government.

The revenues of Singapore are paid into this fund, and government expenditures are made from this fund.

After his loss, Tan said he would continue to convey the views of Singaporeans to the government.

He also said he was open to contesting for the position again.

Running for election again

For this year's presidential election, before the Certificates of Eligibility were issued, Tan mentioned that it was his intention to withdraw his bid if George Goh qualified as a candidate.

This was to prevent splitting of votes of Singaporeans who wished to have a "independent" president.

Tan said Goh is younger, more resourceful and would be able to campaign more effectively than himself.

Tan also said he hoped to discuss with Goh who among the two should step down if they both were eligible for the position.

Goh responded to his comment to say no such agreement exists.

At his first walkabout after launching his presidential bid this time, Tan told the media that he had "no doubt" that he would be able to keep his election deposit for this election.

Family's support

During his campaign, Tan also shared that his family would have preferred if he did not run for president again this time round as his family underwent a "difficult time" in the past 12 years since his 2011 defeat.

His view, which he shared with his family, was that it was his "duty" to offer the people of Singapore a chance to vote for an independent president.

Tan's family eventually decided to give him their full support.

When the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) suggested that he has a "history of objectifying women", his daughter also put out a statement on Facebook to defend him.

Tan also added that he did not wish to bring his family into the campaign as it is "very stressful".

Top image by Mothership