Singapore to hold general election on Sept. 11

Visitors gather along the pier in front of the iconic sculpture of the Merlion in Singapore. AFP

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s government has announced that it will hold a general election on Sept. 11.

The polls, announced Tuesday, are expected to be a test of the ruling People’s Action Party’s 50-year dominance in policy making.

The party’s founder and Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, died in March at age 91.

The PAP currently holds 80 out of 87 seats in Parliament. It received just 60 percent of all votes cast in the 2011 general election, in its worst electoral performance, and has lost two by-elections since then.

A system of electing members of Parliament in groups of four to six has helped the party maintain a commanding majority. Groups fielded by the PAP are usually led by senior office holders. TVJ