SINGAPORE - Samples from official vote counting in Singapore’s election on Saturday night showed the People’s Action Party (PAP) was on course to win its 14th successive poll and extend its six-decade rule.
Samples of voting in nine of the 32 constituencies being contested in the city-state showed the PAP had won in all of them. The vote count was ongoing and more sample counts were being released by the Elections Department.
The early vote counts released by the department were from random samples of 100 votes taken in each polling station, with a 4% margin of error. A final result is not expected until the early hours of Sunday.
The election is seen as a referendum on the popularity of the PAP, which has ruled since before independence in 1965. Attention is focused on whether the opposition can challenge the ruling party’s tight grip and make further inroads after small but unprecedented gains in the last contest.
Though the PAP has consistently won in landslides with about 90% of seats, its share of the popular vote is closely watched as a measure of the strength of its mandate. New Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is keen to improve on the 60.1% share the party won in the 2020 poll — one of its worst performances on record.
Lopsided contest
Some analysts have said the election could alter the political dynamic in the years ahead if the opposition can make more headway, with younger voters keen to see alternative voices, greater scrutiny and more robust debate.
But that could take time. Like previous elections, Saturday’s contest was a lopsided affair, with 46% of all candidates representing the PAP, which contested all 97 seats compared to 26 for its biggest rival, the Workers’ Party, which won 10 seats last time, the most by an opposition party.
The PAP has long had the upper hand, with a big membership to draw from, influence in state institutions and far greater resources than its untested opponents, which ran in only a small number of constituencies.
The PAP had five seats in the bag even before polling day, with no opponent in one multi-member constituency.
The Workers’ Party won in one constituency worth five seats, the early sample voting count showed.
The election is the PAP’s first under the leadership of Wong, 52, who became the city-state’s fourth prime minister last year, promising continuity, new blood and to lead the country of 6 million people his own way.
He took over at the end of the two-decade premiership of Lee Hsien Loong, the son of former leader Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore.
Living costs and housing availability in one of the world’s most expensive cities were key issues in Saturday’s election and remain a significant challenge for Wong, whose government has warned of recession if the trade-dependent economy becomes collateral damage in the war over steep US tariffs.
The PAP was keen to avoid upsets and had warned voters of the consequences of seat losses for key cabinet members, whom Wong said were critical to balancing ties between the United States and China and navigating Singapore through potentially choppy economic waters.