Explainer | Singapore election: the parties taking on the PAP on July 10

For only the second time since independence, Lee Hsien Loong’s ruling People’s Action party will face opponents in all seats

The Workers’ Party, Progress Singapore Party and the Singapore Democratic Party are expected to mount the strongest challenges

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The Elections Department centre in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:59pm, 30 Jun 2020Updated: 7:25pm, 30 Jun 2020

The nomination process for Singapore’s July 10 general election closed on Tuesday with 192 candidates filing their papers to contest the 93 parliamentary seats.

For the second consecutive election – and only the second time since the country’s independence – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party (PAP) will face opponents in all seats.

Many political observers expect the ruling party to comfortably extend its uninterrupted rule of Singapore that stretches back to 1959.

On polling day, 10 parties will vie with the PAP for 17 group representation constituencies (GRCs) that each consist of four or five seats, and 14 single-seat constituencies.

The Workers’ Party (WP) and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) – the biggest of these small opposition groups – together will contest 45 seats, or about 50 per cent of parliamentary districts.

THE WORKERS’ PARTY: BIGGEST THREAT?

Pritam Singh, leader of the Workers’ Party. Photo: Reuters

The Workers’ Party, with its six MPs, was the sole opposition group in the last parliament. It will contest 21 seats in six constituencies, down from 28 seats in the 2015 election.

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