Singapore Presidential Election: Tharman's campaign spending of $738k highest among candidates
Meanwhile, presidential candidate Ng Kok Song spent S$312,131, of which $280,800 went to Gushcloud for online advertising. Tan Kin Lian spent $71,366.
SINGAPORE — President Tharman Shanmugaratnam's campaign for the Presidential Election spent a total of $738,717, making it the highest among the three candidates, as per declarations released by the Elections Department (ELD) on Friday (20 October).
Tharman's campaign expenses were more than double that of Ng Kok Song's, who spent $312,131, and over ten times greater than Tan Kin Lian's expenses, which totalled $71,366.
According to ELD guidelines, each candidate was permitted to spend up to $812,822.10 in this election.
The spending limit was calculated based on either $600,000 or 30 cents for each registered elector, whichever was higher. In this case, there were a total of 2,709,407 electors.
Former Senior Minister Tharman secured a landslide win on 1 September, capturing 70.4 per cent of the vote.
In contrast, Ng received 15.72 per cent, while Tan Kin Lian secured 13.88 per cent of the vote.
Tharman spent on non-online and online advertising
President Tharman's most substantial expenditure was allocated to non-online election advertising, amounting to $481,226. This included expenses for printing and displaying banners, posters, and producing brochures.
His next highest expense was $141,865 for online election advertising, encompassing spending on social media, his campaign website, and "youth and grassroots" interviews and "youth and grassroots" interviews.
Additionally, Tharman's expenses included a payment of $300 to the ELD for removing six campaign materials that violated election regulations, according to the declarations.
Five of these were displayed within 50m of a polling station, and one was exhibited on a tree without the consent of the National Parks Board.
While no rallies were held during this election, Tharman organised an election meeting at the Pasir Panjang Power Station, incurring an expense of $8,640 for the venue.
CNA reported that Tharman's campaign spending exceeded that of the winners of the last three presidential elections.
Halimah Yacob spent $220,875 on her campaign, even though she ultimately ran unopposed in the reserved election in 2017. Dr Tony Tan spent approximately $503,000 in the 2011 election.
Campaign spending strategies of other candidates
Election advertising constituted the majority of expenses for the other two candidates.
Tan spent close to $70,000 on non-online advertising and a mere $20 on online advertising, with most of the funds dedicated to printing posters and covering the manpower and transportation costs for putting them up.
His total expenditure was similar to his first presidential run in the 2011 election, when he spent nearly $71,000.
Ng's returns revealed that the majority of his expenses were allocated to Gushcloud, a marketing, entertainment, and talent agency.
He paid the firm $280,800 for his online advertising, with his non-online advertising expenses totalling just over $1,000.
His online advertising costs included social media management and analytics, guest appearances on podcasts and talk shows, and video production.
Who provided financial support to the candidates?
Tharman's campaign was financially supported by seven donors, amounting to $800,000.
His donors include Hsieh Fu Hua, a board director at GIC, and Loh Boon Chye, the CEO of Singapore Exchange.
CNA reported that a spokesperson from Tharman's campaign team confirmed that any unspent donations would be returned to donors in proportion to their contributions.
Meanwhile, Tan received over $41,800 in donations from approximately 120 individuals.
Ng did not declare any donations, as he had previously stated that he was funding his campaign from his personal savings and would not accept contributions.
For the first time after an election, individuals interested in accessing the election returns can now do so online for free.
In contrast, during the 2020 General Election, those wishing to review the returns had to visit in person and pay the department $2 for each candidate's documents.
These returns will be available for inspection for six months until 19 April 2024.
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