‘Tharman effect’ a key factor behind landslide win: Analysts

President-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s landslide victory is a reflection of his personal popularity, and showed that voters did not treat this election as a referendum on the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), said political analysts. They said the former senior minister’s personal standing and clout among Singaporeans garnered him the lion’s share of the votes and a resounding mandate to be the Republic’s ninth head of state. NTU SSS Asst Prof Walid Jumblatt Abdullah called Mr Tharman’s win a “resounding victory”. Dr Walid said: “Evidently, the scandals didn’t matter as much. But more broadly, because Tharman was from the PAP and the whole contest was about who was independent, I think the results show that the party brand has not been damaged too much by recent happenings.”

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