bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) won a sweeping victory in a snap parliamentary election, extending its 56 years in power as official results early Saturday showed it had taken 83 of 89 seats.
The results from Friday’s vote strengthened the mandate of the party and of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong amid an economic slowdown.
The win came six months after the death of his father, independence leader Lee Kuan Yew, plunged Singapore into mourning and generated a wave of patriotism which analysts said benefitted the party.
Watch: Singapore's ruling party sails to victory

The PAP led Singapore, a former British colonial outpost, to industrialised status in just one generation but was criticised for jailing dissidents and using defamation suits to cripple the opposition.
There was never any doubt the PAP would win a majority, but the results were a marked improvement over its performance in 2011, when -- although it took 80 of the 87 seats available -- its share of votes cast plunged to an all-time low of 60 percent.
No national figures were immediately available for each party’s vote share early Saturday, but the prime minister won 79 percent of the votes cast in his district, up from 69 percent in 2011.
Lopsided results in favour of the PAP were also registered in other key districts.
“Our polling all year showed likelihood of PAP bouncing back,” said David Black, managing director of local research firm Blackbox.
“The only surprise was the extent of it,” he told AFP.
Bridget Welsh, Asian political researcher at the National Taiwan University, said the “LKY (Lee Kuan Yew) effect” helped the PAP.
Opposition rallies drew tens of thousands during the nine-day campaign, dwarfing PAP gatherings, but they did not translate into votes on election day.
Government control of mainstream media was undermined in the recent campaign by independent portals and the opposition's aggressive use of social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Voting is mandatory in Singapore with few exemptions.
“This is a clear victory for Lee Hsien Loong and it will completely solidify his position within the cabinet, which was not all that strong before,” said Michael Barr, an associate professor at Flinders University in Australia who closely follows Singapore politics.
“It also solidifies the PAP’s model of technocratic authoritarianism even after the LKY era,” he added.
Read more: Singapore election result is foregone conclusion but can one party satisfy post-Lee Kuan Yew Singapore?

The prime minister campaigned on a platform touting the country’s meteoric rise from a colonial backwater into one of the world’s wealthiest societies after 56 years of uninterrupted PAP rule.
“In this election, we are showing a report card. We are proud of it, I hope you are proud of it too. We are asking you for a mandate. Work with us, help us to make things better for Singapore,” Lee said in his final election rally speech.
But the WP urged voters to support the building of a robust legislative opposition to rein in the dominance of the PAP and force it to reform its policies on immigration, health care and social safety nets for the poor and elderly.
“We cannot allow Singapore to fall into a situation where our survival depends only on the PAP, or just on any one party,” WP chief Low Thia Khiang said in a campaign speech.
 


Singapore's ruling party stages crushing election win to extend its 56 years in power 

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister and leader of the People's Action Party (PAP), celebrates the party's landslide victory in the general election. Photo: AFP

Supporters of Singapore's People's Action Party (PAP) celebrate as the party won 83 of the 89 parliamentary seats, while the opposition Workers' Party (WP) retained 6 seats. Photo: Xinhua

Singaporeans queue at a polling station to cast their votes in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Voters queue to cast their ballots during the general election at a polling centre in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Singapore election result is foregone conclusion but can one party satisfy post-Lee Kuan Yew Singapore?

The ruling People's Action Party is expected to win comfortably. Photo: Reuters

As Singapore prepares for election, immigration remains key issue

Immigration has been raised at rallies of pro-government supporters. Photo:  AFP

Immigration has been raised at rallies of the opposition Workers' Party. Photo: AP

Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan criticised the government on the issue. Photo:Xinhua

How Singapore’s quirky election system works

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Despite opposition rallies drawing tens of thousands during the nine-day campaign, the support failed to translate into votes on election day


Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) looked to be making a strong showing in an election on Friday, according to samples of votes taken in more than two dozen constituencies.


Singapore's ruling party stages crushing election win to extend its 56 years in power

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Despite opposition rallies drawing tens of thousands during the nine-day campaign, the support failed to translate into votes on election day

Despite opposition rallies drawing tens of thousands during the nine-day campaign, the support failed to translate into votes on election day