1999 Singaporean presidential election

Presidential elections were scheduled to be held in Singapore on 18 August 1999. Incumbent president Ong Teng Cheong, who had been elected in 1993, did not seek re-election. The Presidential Elections Committee declared Sellapan Ramanathan to be the only eligible presidential candidate to be issued a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) as per the eligibility requirements.

1999 Singaporean presidential election

← 1993 18 August 1999 2005 →
Registered	1,967,984 ( 12.04%)
Nominee Sellapan Ramanathan Party Independent Popular vote Unopposed
President before election Ong Teng Cheong Independent Elected President Sellapan Ramanathan Independent

S.R. Nathan previously served as Singapore's Ambassador to the United States from 1990 to 1996 and was elected in an uncontested election due to the lack of eligible candidates. He was sworn in as the sixth President of Singapore on 1 September 1999. As of 2025, Nathan was also the first (and to date, the only) President-elect without any direct affiliation to any political party or a prior record of political experience.

Candidates

Eligible

Candidates	Background	Outcome
S. R. Nathan	Seconded to the National Trades Union Congress, and then worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs. He was the Ambassador-at-large of Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies.	Application for the Certificate of Eligibility Accepted.

Declared Ineligible

Candidates	Background	Outcome
Ooi Boon Ewe	A member of the People's Liberal Democratic Party. He submitted eligibility forms to the Elections Department but was declared ineligible.	Application for the Certificate of Eligibility rejected.
Tan Soo Phuan	The Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party. He submitted eligibility forms to the Elections Department but was declared ineligible.

Declined to be candidate

Candidates	Background
Ong Teng Cheong	The incumbent and fifth president of Singapore, he decided not to seek re-election for a second term.

External links

• Presidential Elections Results, Singapore Election Department
• Singaporean presidential election of 1999^[usurped], Singapore-Elections.com