logo

Singapore election: Governing party secures decisive win

Saturday, 12 September 2015


Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP) has won a decisive victory in the general election.
Results showed the PAP had secured 83 of 89 seats, winning nearly 70% of the ballots cast. The party has won every election since independence in 1965.
Patriotic feeling over the death of long-term leader Lee Kuan Yew may have swelled the vote, analysts said.
The opposition, running in all constituencies for the first time, had hoped to challenge the PAP's dominance.
But the results were a marked improvement over the 2011 vote for the PAP, when it took 80 of the 87 seats but saw its share of votes drop to an all-time low of 60%.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of PAP founder Lee Kuan Yew, said he was "humbled" by the result.
"Tomorrow will be better than today," he told supporters.
The turnout was 93.56% among 2.46 million voters, the Elections Department said. Voting is mandatory in Singapore, with few exemptions allowed.
The PAP's main rival - the Workers' Party - ended up with six seats, less than the seven it held in the outgoing parliament. A number of smaller parties also ran.
The PAP's success has been attributed to its widespread popularity among Singaporeans - who have seen their country rapidly evolve into a first-world economy - as well as its tight political control.
But government stumbles in managing immigration and infrastructure, coupled with a greater desire by younger Singaporeans for political plurality, have led to gains by opposition parties over the years, according to BBC.

--Shuvo--