Singapore’s ruling party wins 87 of 97 seats in parliamentary election
In an election held amid global economic uncertainties, Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) returned to government in a stunning victory, winning 87 out of 97 seats – or almost 90 per cent of the seats – and staving off challenges from the Workers’ Party (WP) without conceding any new ground to its rivals.
Against the backdrop of party renewal and leadership transition, Singaporeans at the ballot box on Saturday (May 3) chose political stability and economic safety over the opposition’s calls for greater checks and balances.
In all, 65.57 per cent of the 2,386,452 valid votes cast went to the PAP – up from 61.24 per cent in the 2020 General Election – in what was Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first electoral test leading the ruling party.
In leading the PAP to an increased vote share, Mr Wong bucked a trend: Previous GEs in 1991 and 2006 saw dips in the PAP’s vote share after a new prime minister took office.
The ruling party also garnered over 75 per cent of the vote in 10 constituencies. The best performing PAP constituency was Queenstown Single Member Constituency (SMC), where Mr Eric Chua won 81.12 per cent of the votes.
The last result – for Tampines GRC – of the elections was announced close to six hours after the polls closed – at nearly 2am on Sunday. Speaking at the PAP’s post-election press conference held about an hour later, Mr Wong said that Singaporeans have given the party “a clear and strong mandate to govern”.
Reiterating that the bigger contest is not between political parties but between Singapore and the challenges it faces, Mr Wong noted that the election took place at a critical time for Singapore, as the world faces an economic slowdown as well as fundamental shifts in the international order.
“The results will put Singapore in a better position to face this turbulent world … It’s a clear signal of trust, stability and confidence in your government,” said Mr Wong. “Singaporeans, too, can draw strength from this and look ahead to our future with confidence.”
He added that he was “deeply humbled and grateful” for the results, and that the PAP will work even harder with this mandate to ensure concrete progress for Singapore.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who handed over power to Mr Wong in August last year, said on Facebook that he was “very happy and relieved with the results of GE2025”.
“This election took place at a crucial time – in the world, and in Singapore. It was vital that PM Lawrence Wong won a good mandate in this election, to show Singaporeans, and show the world, that he has the full support of a united nation. This election result achieves that,” he said.
The 4.33 percentage point swing towards the PAP meant that WP’s much vaunted push in eastern Singapore – Punggol, Tampines and East Coast Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs), as well as the single-member wards of Tampines Changkat and Jalan Kayu – failed to translate to seats.
In the four-member Tampines GRC, where WP fielded its party vice-chair Faisal Manap against PAP’s Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli, the PAP came up on top, securing 52.02 per cent of votes.
In the hot seat of Jalan Kayu SMC, where former PAP Cabinet minister and labour chief Ng Chee Meng was pitted against WP new face Andre Low, it was ultimately Mr Ng who triumphed with 51.47 per cent of votes.
Over at Punggol GRC, where WP had focused its attacks on the PAP’s last-minute move to field Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong there, the opposition party’s team led by senior counsel Harpreet Singh only managed to garner 44.83 per cent of the votes.
Nevertheless, WP managed to retain its 10 parliamentary seats from Aljunied and Sengkang GRCs, as well as its stronghold of Hougang SMC. While it failed to make further inroads, WP was able to either match or improve its margins of victory in these three constituencies.
The opposition party will also be offered two Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seats. Under the NCMP scheme, if there are fewer than 12 opposition MPs elected, the best-performing losing opposition candidates are offered NCMP seats to make up the shortfall.
The two NCMP seats will be offered to WP’s Jalan Kayu SMC candidate Andre Low and a member of WP’s Tampines GRC team.
This would grow the WP’s overall parliamentary presence to 12 seats – the largest in its history – should the party accept the NCMP roles.
For the constituencies it contested in, WP garnered a vote share of 50 per cent, a 0.5 percentage point drop from the previous election.
At WP’s assembly point at Serangoon Stadium, WP chief Pritam Singh thanked supporters for helping to achieve a more balanced parliament and urged them to continue the work. “It was always going to be a difficult election. The slate is wiped clean, we start work again tomorrow, and we go again,” Mr Singh said.
It was a dismal night for the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) as the election results streamed in – the party lost in all of its contests and also its two NCMP seats from the previous polls.
In West Coast-Jurong West GRC, the party fielded a team of heavyweights consisting of founder Tan Cheng Bock, party chief Leong Mun Wai and vice-chair Hazel Poa, but the result ultimately went in the favour of the PAP team led by National Development Minister Desmond Lee, which got 60.01 per cent against PSP’s 39.99 per cent.
PSP’s other attempts in Chua Chu Kang GRC and the single-member wards of Bukit Gombak, Kebun Baru, Marymount and Pioneer performed worse, garnering less than 35 per cent of the vote in these wards.
Speaking to reporters outside PSP’s headquarters in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, Mr Leong thanked voters who had supported the party and accepted the results.
“The results are very shocking to us, but the people have spoken,” he said, adding that the party will study the results “seriously and humbly” and reconsider how it can gain further trust from Singaporeans.
“We need to regroup ourselves so that we can fight another day.”
The Singapore Democratic Party, which embarked on a “northern strategy” by contesting Sembawang GRC and Sembawang West SMC, did not yield the results that party chief Chee Soon Juan had hoped for.
“Obviously, it’s really upsetting,” Dr Chee told reporters. “Across the board, with what happened in Bukit Panjang and our constituencies and the rest of the opposition as well, it’s quite a surprise.”
With WP winning 10 seats, Dr Chee was on track to be offered one of the NCMP seats – in what would have been his first entry into parliament after 33 years of politics – until the last result for Tampines GRC was announced at close to 2am.
For Dr Chee, the 46.81 per cent he got in Sembawang West SMC against PAP’s Poh Li San would not qualify him for an NCMP seat as the WP performed better in Tampines GRC (47.37 per cent) and Jalan Kayu SMC (48.53 per cent).
SDP chair Paul Tambyah also lost his contest in Bukit Panjang SMC, with 38.59 per cent of the vote against PAP stalwart Liang Eng Hwa.
The May 3 poll returned the PAP to power with a super majority. Not all seats were contested, with the five-member Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC being declared a walkover on Nomination Day.
A total of 2,429,281 votes, including rejected votes, were cast in the country’s 14th election since independence.
This made up 92.47 per cent of the 2,627,026 registered electors in all contested divisions – a record low voter turnout. The previous record was in the 2011 General Election, in which 93.06 per cent of voters turned up to cast their ballot.
Source: CNA
–Agencies