In Singapore's election, everyone's eyes are on the verge of victory, not winners
Just like the last time Singapore held an election, it is in the pain of a global crisis.
Five years ago, the Council described itself as a stable hand guiding the country through the coronavirus pandemic. The stadium is the same this time, as President Trump has upended the world trade order.
And, like last time, there is no doubt that the People's Action Party, which has been in power since 1959, will retain its power. But Saturday’s election will be a test of the popularity of PAP, which won a significant majority in 2020, which performed well in 2020. There is growing evidence of a desire to establish competitive democracy in city-states.
Now, many political analysts agree that the opposition is making an impact in Singapore. Many voters are unhappy with PAP's response to rising cost of living. During the campaign, rallies of the country's main opposition parties were packed with Workers' Party and their goods were sold out. Nevertheless, the party’s leader Pritam Singh did his best to assure the public that his party was not fighting for enough seats to form the government, but added that Singapore needed a more balanced political system.
“When you are against your objection in Parliament, the government hears another voice from you,” Singh said at his party's first rally last week.
He added: “We must be actively involved in our democracy.”
Elections could also be a referendum for change: After Prime Minister Lawrence Wong took office last year, he served in Singapore's founding father's son Lee Hsien Loong for two years. Driving in the trade war and U.S.-China tensions “will enable people in the government to build trust and close relationships with their U.S. and Chinese counterparts,” Mr Wong said.
He reiterated the same argument his party has made over decades: PAP has a record of stability and prosperity for the nearly 6 million country, one of the richest per capita in the world.
The problem is that many ordinary Singaporeans no longer feel prosperous. Singapore now has more millionaires than London. Although average wealth has more than doubled in terms of local currencies, median wealth has fallen by 1.8% from 2008 to 2023, according to Swiss bank UBS.
In the last election, Pap won one of the lowest voting shares in history and won a record 10 seats for the opposition. Since then, the government has strengthened social spending to provide allowances for those who lay off employees and provide generous parent-child relationships. But it has been upset over the rising cost of living, the two hikes in business taxes, and the decline in housing affordability and the opposition seized.
The opposition has widely criticized Pap for holding one of the world's shortest campaign periods – Nine Days – and the election boundaries held by redefining the election boundaries in the region that made a profit in the last poll. The PAP rejected the claim, saying the Election Boundary Review Commission operates independently of the government.
In February, Mr Singh was found guilty of sworn in, but voters shrugged. In a survey conducted by Blackbox Research in a few weeks before the election, Mr Singh’s approval rate was 71%, up 7 points from the previous quarter. Mr. Wong succeeded with a 75% attitude.
