PE 2023: Analysts say opposition backing, '3-in-1 presidents' claim cast doubt over Tan Kin Lian's independence

Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian’s assertion that he is an “independent candidate” is being called into question after he was backed by several notable opposition politicians. Dr Walid Jumblatt Abdullah, an assistant professor with NTU’s SSS, said that Mr Tan is positioning himself as the “ultimate anti-establishment candidate”. This could be the reason that some members of the opposition parties have “coalesced” around him and his campaign, he added. The people who vote for Mr Tan may see rival candidate Ng Kok Song as “linked to the establishment”, and therefore vote for the former as a “protest vote” against the ruling People’s Action Party and what it stands for.

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