However, the department said the election result could be different. “Counting is still in progress. The public should wait for the announcement of the election result by the Returning Officer,” it said.

The sample count at 10.45pm showed Tharman, a former senior minister, with 70% of votes cast, ahead of his rivals, businessman Ng Kok Song (16%) and Tan Kin Lian (14%).

The department said a sample count is performed at the start of the counting process where a random bundle of 100 ballot papers from each polling station is counted to get an early indication of the possible electoral outcome for the election. There are 215 counting centres across Singapore.

Tharman, 66, an economist, was deputy prime minister from 2011 to 2019, and served as senior minister until 2023. He was also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore between 2011 and 2023.

He made his political debut in the 2001 general election and became MP for Taman Jurong and was re-elected four times.

He stepped down from Parliament and all his positions in the government and resigned as a member of the PAP in order to stand as a candidate in the presidential election.

As at 5pm, more than 2.3 million Singaporeans have cast their votes, or about 85% of the total eligible electors.