Singapore dissolves parliament as election looms

SINGAPORE—Singapore’s President S.R. Nathan dissolved parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for a general election which must be held within three months.

Nathan made the move on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, according to a statement issued by the prime minister’s office.

“The president, on the advice of the prime minister, has dissolved parliament on Tuesday, 19 April 2011,” the statement said.

Polls must be held within three months of the dissolution of parliament, according to the Singapore Constitution.

The last general election was held in May 2006 in which Lee’s ruling People Action Party (PAP) won all but two of the 84 parliamentary seats.

But while the ruling party won an overwhelming majority, its share of the popular vote fell to 67 percent from the 75 percent it garnered during the previous election in 2001.

Analysts have said that rising living costs and unhappiness over the influx of foreign workers are likely to be the key issues at the polls.

Singapore’s economy rebounded strongly from the 2008 and 2009 global recession to post Asia’s fastest growth rate in 2010 at 14.5 percent.

But food costs have been rising and property prices heating up, prompting the government to introduce a series of measures to cool down the housing market.

In addition, lower-skilled Singaporean workers have been complaining that the government’s policy on foreign labor has led to jobs being taken away from its citizens.

Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong in remarks published Tuesday acknowledged that the electoral ground “may not be sweet” for the ruling party this time.

“But can you sweeten the ground by having more opposition in parliament?” he was quoted in the Straits Times as saying, in reaction to calls to have more opposition members elected to the legislature.

Singapore is admired worldwide for its speedy rise from a third world port to one of Asia’s richest nations in just over 30 years, but it has also been criticized for restricting political freedoms.

Faced with little opposition, the PAP was returned to power in every election since 1959, when Singapore gained self-rule from Britain.

Lee, 59, son of former prime minister and elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew, will be leading the PAP in political battle for the second time since taking office in August 2004.