Singapore's ruling PAP set for big win in general polls

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was re-elected from his 17 Group Representation Constituency (GRC) of Ang Mo Kio, as the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is set for a big win in the general elections held on Friday.

Lee's party PAP has so far won 65 parliamentary seats and is leading in 18 other seats out of the 93 contested in the polls.

The prime minister led his PAP GRC team of Gan Thiam Poh, Darryl David, Ng Ling Ling and Nadia Ahmad Samdin.

Lee and his team secured 71.91 per cent or 124,430 votes cast over Reform Party led by Kenneth Jeyaretnam and his team of Andy Zhu, Darren Soh, Noraini Yunus and Charles Yeo. The Reform Party secured 28.09 per cent or 48,600 votes.

Also re-elected was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and his PAP team of Maliki Osman, Jessica Tan, Cheryl Chan and Tan Kiat How from the East Coast GRC.

Heng and his team secured 53.41 per cent or 61,009 votes cast. It defeated the Workers’ Party team which polled 46.59 per cent or 53,228 votes.

The Workers’ Party team was Dylan Ng, Kenneth Foo, Nicole Seah and Terrence Tan.

Some 2.65 million Singaporeans donning face masks and gloves voted in the elections for selecting 93 members of parliament out of 192 candidates contesting for seats through 17 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) which groups together candidates in four or five, and 14 Single Member Constituencies.

The PAP has ruled Singapore since independence with absolute majority and, going by the results, is set for re-election with more than two-third of the seats in the new parliament.

Eleven political parties, including the ruling PAP, campaigned for nine days amid the unprecedented challenge of Covid-19 that has pushed the city-state's economy towards the worst-ever recession in nearly two decades.

In a bid to enhance the safety of voting amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of polling stations was increased from 880 to 1,100.

Prime Minister Lee last month called for general elections 10 months ahead of the schedule to "clear the decks" and give the new government a fresh five-year mandate to focus on the national agenda.

Lee's PAP has won every election since the late 1950s. When the party’s share of the vote dipped to about 60 per cent in 2011, which was considered an upset.

The ruling PAP is the only party with candidates contesting on all 93 seats. This is the second general election that the opposition has fielded candidates in all seats in parliament.

In the last elections in September 2015, the PAP contested all 89 seats and won 83 seats, an absolute majority in the house. The Workers' Party secured six seats. Observers are watching if the Workers' Party can increase their seats this time in parliament.

Lee, who is the country's third prime minister, has led the government since 2004. His father Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore's first prime minister and he transformed the city-state into an affluent nation during his 31 years rule.