Singapore’s ruling party dominates again, boosting new PM

Singapore: Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) won its 14th successive election on Saturday to extend its unbroken six-decade rule, delivering a strong mandate to its new prime minister as the city-state braces for economic turbulence from a global trade war.

On the same night as Australia’s incumbent government easily secured a second term, the PAP took 87 of the 97 parliamentary seats up for grabs, with victories by huge margins in many of the 33 constituencies, as the opposition failed to build on gains made in previous contests.

Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s prime minister, celebrates victory.Credit: Bloomberg

The election was a bellwether of the popularity of the PAP amid some signs of disenchantment with its tight grip on power, speech and assembly in the Asian financial hub, whose 6 million people have known no other kind of government.

Though the PAP has consistently won about 90 per cent of seats, its share of the popular vote is closely watched as a measure of the strength of its mandate, with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong eager to leave a mark on his first election in charge.

The PAP, which has ruled since before Singapore’s 1965 independence, took 65.57 per cent of the vote, surpassing the 61.2 per cent achieved in 2020. The outcome will be seen as a public endorsement of US-educated Wong, 52, who became Singapore’s fourth prime minister last year, promising continuity as well as new blood and a new style of leadership.

He took over at the end of the two-decade premiership of Lee Hsien Loong, the son of former leader Lee Kuan Yew, founder of modern Singapore.

Supporters of ruling People’s Action Party cheer after the decisive win.Credit: AP

Wong must address high living costs and a shortage of housing – persistent problems in one of the world’s most expensive cities, which faces a risk of recession and job losses if its trade-dependent economy takes a hit from the trade war triggered by steep US tariffs.

Amid growing support for the opposition Workers’ Party (WP) in recent elections, the PAP campaigned on its record, seeking to convince voters it was the steady hand in a time of global uncertainty. It warned that any reduction to its massive parliamentary majority would only make it more difficult to govern effectively.

Opposition parties called this nonsense, saying Singapore needed more non-PAP representation to better hold the government to account.

In the end, the WP will send the same number of representatives to the new parliament as it did the last: 10.

While the scale of the incumbent’s win against the backdrop of an unpredictable US president invites comparisons to Saturday’s election in Australia, the two nations’ political systems and culture differ significantly.

“With just nine days for election campaigning, and as many as eight opposition parties competing for votes in a first-past-the-post electoral system, the WP did well to consolidate its gains from the last election to hold its 10 seats,” said Garry Rodan from the University of Queensland.

“The road for PAP opponents is always tough due to electoral gerrymandering and malapportionment, the state-owned media dominance benefiting the PAP, and extensive legislative curbs on free speech and civil society.”

He said the increased vote share under Wong was an acknowledgment of the party’s efforts to address inequality, but would also “reinforce PAP’s confidence in its model of authoritarian rule”.

“This model continually and creatively works to intimidate opponents and critics – not least in their use of the internet – and sever links between opposition parties and interest groups in favour of fragmented rather than cohesive political opposition,” he said.

“This election also emphatically underlines the need for some PAP opponents to address self-imposed fragmentation. Most of the eight parties contesting in 2025 garnered little support, and they do not reflect a wide range of distinctive ideologies.”

Wong thanked his constituents, saying: “We are grateful once again for your strong mandate, and we will honour it.”

Zach Hope and Reuters

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