By Martin Petty
(Reuters) – Singapore has a parliamentary election on 3 May, the first major test for the new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, while his People's Action Party wants to expand his unbroken rule of the city state and appears with a stronger mandate.
How will it take place?
The porridge will almost certainly win most seats in the elections, because it has every election since Singapore's independence in 1965, with candidates introduced in all 33 constituents for 97 seats in parliament.
With a Track Record of Good Governance, Attachment of Investments and guaranteeing the stability of the trade -reduced economy, the porridge remains the dominant power in the politics of Singapore with resources that conquer its opponents and a great party membership to exhaust. Of the total 211 election candidates who are active, 46% are porridge.
No opposition party can only take on a challenge, with the greatest rival of the porridge, the employee party, which runs in just a quarter of the races, which means that it can win the most 26 seats. The third party from the previous parliament, the problems Singapore party, disputes only 13 seats.
What's at stake?
Despite the opportunities overwhelming in favor of the porridge and the very unlikely beating, the elections have the potential to change the dynamics of Singapore politics in the coming years and to create a way to greater political plurality.
Stable profit by the opposition in recent elections have been interpreted on a large scale as signs of disappointment with the monopoly of the ruling party and a desire among some Singaporese, in particular younger voters, for more diverse politics, with alternative voices and ideas, greater policy control and robust debate.
The share of the porridge in the popular mood fell to 61% from 70% in 2020 in 2015. If it still sees a decrease and the party of the opposition staff produces 10 seats in 2020, it can be interpreted as a sign that after six decades, the porridge and grip on the power is slowly grabbed.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who premiered for two decades, warned during a PAP meeting on Sunday that the profits of the opposition would “weaken the assets of the ruling party to rule” and result in the loss of experienced ministers.
What are the most important problems?
The opposition is aimed at the porridge on living and the availability of homes, an eternal problem in Singapore, between the world's most expensive cities.
The porridge tried to distract that with a series of giveaway actions in the February budget, including vouchers, tax discounts and hand -outs in cash. Wong has promised more if the economy of Singapore suffers from additional damage due to global trade tensions, with a recession possible.
Some opposition parties also campaign for stricter controls on foreign employees in high -paid jobs and free or reduced price care, a problem for the aging population of Singapore. Wong has warned about “many seductive proposals” of opponents who can weaken public finances and harm investments and incomes.
What advantage has Dad?
Wong called the elections in the short term on April 15 and gave opponents little preparation time. The unique model of Singapore also works favorably for his party, with both constituencies with one and multi-member, where teams of up to six candidates run.
Unlike the porridge, opposition parties have difficulty recruiting enough candidates for competitions with several members and steep deposits of S $ 13,500 ($ 10,280) per candidate are a deterrent.
More than half of the constituencies are a multi-member and the porridge already has five seats in the bag after a walkover in one of those when no opposition parties dispute.
Singapore also regularly rewind election distributions, apparently to display population shifts that have worked in favor of the porridge. It has previously denied accusations of Gerrymeering.
What is considered a good porridge mandate?
The porridge closes its share in the popular mood closely, although the worst performance of 60.1% in 2011 still translated into 93% of the seats and would still be considered a landslide in many democracies.
Some analysts say that a voice share of 60% to 65% would look good for Wong in his first election as prime minister.
“Everything that indicates a significant dip of the latest elections would probably be attributed to the perception of voters about weakening trust in the new leadership,” said sociologist of the National University of Singapore Tan Ern SER.
(Reporting by Martin Petty; Additional reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Edit by Michael Perry)
