Singapore ruling party stages crushing election win

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong poses with residents for a selfie after attending a rally for the ruling People’s Action Party in downtown Singapore, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. AP

SINGAPORE, Singapore—Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) extended 56 years in power on Saturday after sweeping to victory in a snap election that dashed hopes of a two-party system emerging in the city-state.

Friday’s vote, which saw the party take 83 of 89 seats and nearly 70 percent of the ballots cast, stunned opponents and reversed a plunge in the PAP’s share of the popular vote in 2011.

It strengthened the mandate of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong amid an economic slowdown, with analysts warning the trade-dependent economy could suffer a technical recession in the third quarter.

“It is a good result for the PAP but it is an excellent result for Singapore,” said Lee, 63, who admitted the outcome exceeded the party’s own expectations.

The election came six months after the death of Lee’s father, independence leader Lee Kuan Yew, plunged Singapore into mourning and generated a wave of patriotism which analysts said benefitted the party on election day.

The PAP led Singapore, a former British colonial outpost, to industrialized status in just one generation but has been criticized for jailing dissidents and using defamation suits to cripple the opposition.

READ: Singapore ruling party popularity tested in general election

There was never any doubt the party would again win a majority—but the results were a marked improvement over the 2011 vote, when it took 80 of the 87 seats but saw its share of votes plunge to an all-time low of 60 percent.

Low Thia Khiang, leader of the main opposition Workers’ Party (WP), admitted there had been a “massive swing” in favor of the PAP, but vowed his party will rebound.

“You win, you lose. So I think that is part and parcel of life,” he told reporters.

Immigration, the high cost of living and the plight of elderly and poor Singaporeans were the key issues raised by the opposition during the campaign.

The turnout was 93.56 percent among 2.46 million voters, the Elections Department said. Voting is mandatory in Singapore, with few exemptions allowed.

‘The LKY effect’

Opposition rallies drew tens of thousands during the nine-day campaign, dwarfing PAP gatherings, but they did not translate into winning votes.

“Our polling all year showed likelihood of PAP bouncing back,” said David Black, managing director of local research firm Blackbox.

“The only surprise was the extent of it,” he told AFP.

Bridget Welsh, Asian political researcher at the National Taiwan University, said the “LKY (Lee Kuan Yew) effect” helped the PAP.

“This is a clear victory for Lee Hsien Loong and it will completely solidify his position within the cabinet, which was not all that strong before,” said Michael Barr, an associate professor at Flinders University in Australia who closely follows Singapore politics.

“It also solidifies the PAP’s model of technocratic authoritarianism even after the LKY era,” he added.

Most MPs in Singapore are elected as part of geographic clusters, a system criticized by the opposition as stacked in favour of the ruling party.

The prime minister, who has been in power since 2004, had staked the PAP’s fate on its performance since winning its first election in 1959, when colonial ruler Britain granted self rule.

After a stormy union with Malaysia, Singapore became a republic in 1965.

The WP retained by a narrow margin the five-seat district of Aljunied it had won in 2011. Its vote share dipped to 50.95 percent from 54.72 percent.

The WP also lost one of two single-seat wards it held in the previous parliament.

The Singapore Democratic Party led by Chee Soon Juan, a long-time opponent of the PAP, failed to win any seat despite drawing large rally crowds.

The WP urged voters to support the building of a robust legislative opposition to rein in the PAP.

But Singaporeans decided to back the PAP instead.

“It is very clear that there is no linear progression to a two-party system,” said Barr.

“It seems Singaporeans are not that concerned about issues like freedom of speech or democracy… they are more concerned about making money and getting by, and I guess that is fair enough.”