1967 Singaporean presidential election

30 November 1967 1970  →

Nominee Yusof Ishak Party Independent Electoral vote 47

President before election Yusof Ishak Independent Elected President Yusof Ishak Independent

Indirect presidential elections were held in Singapore on 30 November 1967. This was the first presidential election held in Singapore since the country's independence in 1965. Under the constitution at the time, the president was elected by parliament. Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew nominated incumbent president Yusof Ishak for the presidency, which was met with unanimous agreement by parliament. He was sworn in on 4 December.

Contents

• Background
• Results
• References
• Notes
• Citations
• Bibliography

Background

The office of the president of Singapore is the head of state of Singapore. It was established in 1965 following Singapore's independence from Malaysia, replacing the Yang di-Pertuan Negara. The role of the president is largely ceremonial, but at the time the president could assent laws and give discretion to the appointment of the prime minister or dissolution of the Legislative Assembly. ^{[1] [2]} Prior to the 1991 constitutional amendment, which saw the president elected by popular vote, the president was elected by parliament. ^[3] This was the first presidential election in Singapore. ^[4]

The incumbent Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak, served as the first president since 1965, when a constitutional amendment allowed him to transition into his role as president from Yang di-Pertuan Negara. A journalist, Yusof previously succeeded Sir William Goode in 1959 as Yang di-Pertuan Negara, which he served in til 1965. In that role, he represented the British monarchy from 1959 to 1963, and later the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. ^{[5] [6]}

Results

The first presidential election was held on 30 November 1967 at Parliament House. ^{[4] [7]} Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew nominated Yusof before parliament for a four-year term as president. Lee spoke about his confidence in Yusof and "that he will execute the duties of his high office with the same dignity, willingness, and cheerfulness with which he first undertook them". Following this, members of parliament (MP) Rahmat bin Kenap, Lim Guan Hoo, and S. Ramaswamy voiced their support in their native tongues; Malay, Chinese, and Tamil, respectively. ^[8]

On that day's sitting, 47 out of the 51 MPs were present, with four members absent. ^{[a] [9]} Parliament voted unanimously via voice vote to elect him as president. ^{[10] [8]} Following his successful election, Yusof was sworn in as president on 4 December 1967. ^[11] He received congratulations from French president Charles de Gaulle, Swiss president Roger Bonvin, Indian president Zakir Husain, Pakistani president Ayub Khan, and Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi on his election. ^[12]

References