Nobody had expected any miracle in Singapore elections but few had any doubts that this was the most hotly contested election in the country’s history. Opposition parties had contested in all seats for the first time and had hoped that popular resentment over a widening wealth gap, high prices and immigration would dent the ruling party’s domination of politics. But when the results came, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party (PAP), which has ruled without interruption since 1965, registered a landslide win. The PAP won about 69.9 percent of the vote, above the 60.1 percent it won in the last election in 2011, its worst-ever showing. In the last parliament it had 79 of a total 87 seats; it won 83 of the 89 seats in an expanded parliament, while the opposition Workers’ Party ended up with six seats, one less than it held in the outgoing parliament.
The city state of Singapore is a model of success, and its peace-loving people, who come from a mosaic of ethnicities, are used to a certain security and stability which people of many countries are not able to enjoy. It seems that rather than going for the better days promised by the opposition, the voters were keen on maintaining the status quo -- in other words, they preferred the certainty of the status quo and the tested rather than the uncertainty of the untested. “These results are a strong signal of confidence to ourselves, that we Singaporeans in the post-Lee Kuan Yew era are able to find the winning formula which can keep us progressing and succeeding,” said Prime Minister Lee after the victory.
As the PAP had expected, a sense of patriotism inspired by this year’s 50th anniversary of independence and respect for the country’s independence leader and former premier Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March, worked in its favour. Lee was the father of the current prime minister. The result also vindicates the electoral strategy chosen by the prime minister who called the poll a year before it was required.
The election came amid growing economic risks stemming from China’s slowdown and wobbly financial markets. Crisis always calls for experienced and a tested leadership. Singapore has been able to insulate itself from economic turbulence, which was largely due to the wise policies of the government. So any signs of turbulence and crisis abroad will persuade people to rally behind a leader like Lee to weather the storm.
The opposition defeat is stunning. They failed even to convince voters that having a few more of them in parliament would help to keep the PAP on its toes•
Nobody had expected any miracle in Singapore elections but few had any doubts that this was the most hotly contested election in the country’s history. Opposition parties had contested in all seats for the first time and had hoped that popular resentment over a widening wealth gap, high prices and immigration would dent the ruling party’s domination of politics. But when the results came, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party (PAP), which has ruled without interruption since 1965, registered a landslide win. The PAP won about 69.9 percent of the vote, above the 60.1 percent it won in the last election in 2011, its worst-ever showing. In the last parliament it had 79 of a total 87 seats; it won 83 of the 89 seats in an expanded parliament, while the opposition Workers’ Party ended up with six seats, one less than it held in the outgoing parliament.
The city state of Singapore is a model of success, and its peace-loving people, who come from a mosaic of ethnicities, are used to a certain security and stability which people of many countries are not able to enjoy. It seems that rather than going for the better days promised by the opposition, the voters were keen on maintaining the status quo -- in other words, they preferred the certainty of the status quo and the tested rather than the uncertainty of the untested. “These results are a strong signal of confidence to ourselves, that we Singaporeans in the post-Lee Kuan Yew era are able to find the winning formula which can keep us progressing and succeeding,” said Prime Minister Lee after the victory.
As the PAP had expected, a sense of patriotism inspired by this year’s 50th anniversary of independence and respect for the country’s independence leader and former premier Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March, worked in its favour. Lee was the father of the current prime minister. The result also vindicates the electoral strategy chosen by the prime minister who called the poll a year before it was required.
The election came amid growing economic risks stemming from China’s slowdown and wobbly financial markets. Crisis always calls for experienced and a tested leadership. Singapore has been able to insulate itself from economic turbulence, which was largely due to the wise policies of the government. So any signs of turbulence and crisis abroad will persuade people to rally behind a leader like Lee to weather the storm.
The opposition defeat is stunning. They failed even to convince voters that having a few more of them in parliament would help to keep the PAP on its toes•
