The last time Singapore held elections, he was in a global crisis. This is true today.
Five years ago, the Government Party was depicted as the steady hand to guide the nation through the Koronai cloths. The stadium is the same this time, only with a different catalyst: the upgrading of President Trump from the international trade class.
And, as the last time, there is no doubt that the people’s action party, which has been in power since 1959, will maintain the office. But Saturday’s election will be a trial of PAP’s popularity, which had a almost low record in 2020, even when it gathered a clear majority. It was increasing proof of the desire for a competitive democracy in the city-state.
The count began on Saturday night after polling stations closed at 8 pm local time. An end result is expected only after midnight. The age of voting in Singapore is 21 years old and all citizens are required to vote. About 82 % of the 2.6 million eligible voters had voted on their ballots at 5 pm, according to the election section.
Many political analysts agree that the opposition gains influence in Singapore, with voters unhappy with PAP’s response to increasing costs of living. During the campaign, it was full of rallies for the country’s main party, the Labor Party. Still, Pritam Singh, the leader of the party, has painted pain to assure the public that his party did not dispute enough positions to form a government, simply that Singapore needed a more balanced political system.
“When you have opposition in parliament, your alternative voice is heard by the government,” Mr Singh told his party’s first rally last week.
Steven Yeong, 54, repeated this feeling. “Like many Singapors, I would like to see more powerful discussions in parliament, with more representation of different voices,” said Mr Yeong, who has become unemployed for six months.
Another issue that was a concern, he added, is how “the government makes it easy enough for educated foreigners to compete for jobs with us”.
The elections are the first under Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took office last year after the tenure of Lee Hsien Loong, son of Singapore’s founding father. Mr Wong said navigation in the trade war and US-China tensions “will take people to the government who have created confidence and close relations with their counterparts in both America and China.”
Mr Wong warned that the invoices imposed by the United States would harm Singapore. Its economy depends largely on international trade, with a ratio of over 300 percent trading to GDP, almost five times the world average. Located along the straits of Malacca, one of the most important strips in the world, the port of Singapore ranks among the busiest in the world.
Mr Wong has repeated the same argument that his party has made for decades: that Pap has a history of providing stability and prosperity to this nation of about six million, one of the richest per capita in the world.
The problem is that many Singapore media no longer feel prosperous. Singapore now has more millionaires than London. While average wealth has more than doubled in local currency, average wealth has fallen by 1.8 % from 2008 to 2023, according to Swiss Bank UBS.
“We can see the gap increased quite essentially,” said Kris Tan, 44, a personal trainer. His wife is Hawker, and describes their family as lower to middle class. “I am worried about the future of our children in terms of housing, in terms of the cost of living for them.”
Mr Tan said he is also concerned about the growing elitism, which he says that “it is becoming more and more obvious about the government’s upper stages compared to the people.” He referred to the salaries of millions of dollars earned by the country’s ministers.
“My concern is that the government brings the country,” he said, “but also leaves many people behind.”
In the last elections, the PAP acknowledged a 10 -seat record in the opposition. Since then, the government has boosted social spending, giving temporary financial support to people who have been fired and offering coupons to help with daily costs. However, it continued to face dissatisfaction with increasing costs of living, increases in sales tax and a decrease in economic homes, the issues occupied by the opposition.
The opposition has widely criticized the PAP for conducting one of the shortest campaign periods in the world – nine days – and to launch electoral boundaries in regions where they had won the previous poll. The PAP rejected the allegations, saying that the Committee for Review of the electoral limits operates independently of the government.
In February, Mr Singh was found guilty of an oath in parliament, but voters raised it. In a survey conducted by the Blackbox Research in the weeks before the election, Mr Singh had a 71 %approval rating, seven points from the previous quarter. Mr Wong was a front touch, with 75 %.
