The last time Singapore celebrated elections, was in the midst of a global crisis. That is also true today.
Five years ago, the ruling party was portrayed as the firm hand to guide the nation through the Coronavirus pandemic. The launch is the same this time, only with a different catalyst: the increase in the commercial order of President Trump of the World Commercial Order.
And, as the last time, there is no doubt that the people’s action party, which has bone in power since 1959, will retain power. But Saturday’s choice will be a PAP popular test, which had an almost record exhibition in 2020, even when it obtained a clear majority. It was a growing evidence of a desire for a competitive democracy in the city-state.
When the surveys opened on Saturday morning, people went to line to launch their vote when heavy rains fell into parts of Singapore. The voting age is 21 years here, and all citizens must vote. The voting stations close at 8 pm local time, and a final result is not expected until after midnight.
Many political analysts agree that the opposition is gaining influence in Singapore, with unhappy votes on the PAP response to the growing cost of living. Duration The campaign, the demonstrations for the main opposition party of the country, the Workers Party, were full and their merchandise was depleted. Even so, Pritam Singh, the party leader, struggled to ensure the public that his party was not disputing enough seats to form a government, simply that Singapore needed a more balanced political system.
“When you have opposition in Parliament, the government listens to your alternative voice,” Singh said in his games for the first time the rally last week.
“We must be active participants in our democracy,” he added.
The election is the first under the first Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who assumed the position last year after the two -decades of Lee Hsien Loong, son of the founding father of Singapore. Mr. Wong has said that navigating the commercial war and the US-China tensions “will lead people in the government that have accumulated confidence and close relations with their counterparts both in the United States and in China.”
He reiterated the same argument that his party has made for decades: that Gachas has a history of delivery and prosperity stability for this nation of almost six million, one of the richest per capita in the world.
The problem is that many Singapurenses average no longer feel prosperous. Singapore now has more millionaires than London. Although the average wealth has more than duplicated in the terms of local currencies, the average wealth has fallen 1.8 percent from 2008 to 2023, according to the Swiss Bank UBS.
“We can see that the gap grows quite substantially,” said Kris Tan, 44, a personal coach. His wife is a street vendor, and describes his low -to -medium class family. “I am concerned about the future of our children in terms of housing, in terms of the cost of living for them.”
He said he was also worried about growing elitism, which says that “it is becoming increasingly obvious with respect to the higher levels of the government compared to people.” He referred to the salaries of one million dollars that the country’s ministers earn.
“My concern is that the government is raising the country,” he said, “but he is also leaving many people behind.”
In the last elections, the PAP won with one of the lowest actions in history and admitted a record of 10 seats to the opposition. Since then, the Government has reinforced social spending, providing temporary financial support to people who have been fired and offering coupons to help with daily expenses. But he has continued to face a discontent about the increase in the cost of living, the increases in the sales tax and the decrease in the affordability of the house, the problems in which the opposition has achieved.
The opposition has widely criticized the PAP for celebrating one of the shortest campaign periods in the world, nine days, and for the argument to write the limits of the elections in the districts where they had achieved profits in the previous survey. The PAP rejected the claims, saying that the electoral limits review committee operates independently of the government.
In February, Mr. Singh was convicted of bedtime to Parliament, but the voters shrugged him. In a survey conducted by Blackbox Research in the weeks prior to the elections, Mr. Singh had an approach rating or 71 percent, more than seven points of the previous quarter. Mr. Wong was a touch ahead, with 75 percent.
