Singaporeans voted in record numbers today, facing a choice between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Partyand the biggest number of opponents since independence.
A record 1.8 million voters cast their ballots out of 2.21 million eligible citizens, according to Channel NewsAsia. Lee has sought a new mandate from voters who voiced discontent about the rising cost of living and competition with foreigners for jobs and housing. Polls closed at 8 p.m.
“No doubt over the years the PAP has done well for Singapore, but we need a check in parliament,” said Darren Lim, who’s in his 30s and works in health care. Lim, who votes in the Aljunied constituency where the opposition is fielding its top candidates, said he expects the ruling party to retain power and plans to vote for the rival Workers’ Party.
The PAP, whose five-decade rule oversaw a 41-fold jump in gross domestic product, encountered a more vocal electorate than before, prompting a rare apology from Lee for failing to build enough public housing and expand transport links as the population grew. Lee’s efforts to boost the economy include the opening of two casino resorts, bringing the Formula One race to the island and attracting foreign workers.
The opposition drew thousands to rallies in the past two weeks, where candidates including the Workers’ Party’s Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim brought cheers with calls for a stronger voice in parliament and more affordable public housing.
‘High and Mighty’Opposition groups including the Singapore Democratic Party are vying for 82 of 87 parliamentary seats in 26 out of 27 districts. The only uncontested constituency was that of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, 87, the Cambridge University- trained lawyer who led the island from British rule and was its first premier. He’s the father of the current prime minister.
The parliament dissolved last month had 82 PAP lawmakers, two elected opposition politicians and 10 non-elected members.
“The PAP has served us well over the many years but it’s gotten too high and mighty,” said Yeo Pei Ming, 56, a vegetable merchant and resident of Aljunied. “I think it’s about time we had more opposition voices.”
The ruling party is likely to keep a majority because it retains support from citizens who have seen their wealth rise over the decades, as the island with no natural resources was built into a Southeast Asian manufacturing and financial hub.
Singapore’s gross domestic product was about S$285 billion ($231 billion) last year, compared with S$6.9 billion in 1960, based on 2005 market prices. GDP grew 14.5 percent last year, the most in Asia.
‘Concrete Solutions’“I agree that the PAP has its faults, but the opposition is not strong enough,” said Landon Lim, 31, who doesn’t have to vote because he lives in the elder Lee’s Tanjong Pagar district. “I see the opposition always pointing out PAP’s mistakes, but I want to see concrete solutions.”
Politicians competed in single-seat wards or multiple-seat districts called Group Representation Constituencies, or GRCs. The party that gets the most number of votes in a district will send all its members to parliament, and the PAP has never lost a GRC.
Workers’ Party Chairman Lim and Secretary-General Low contested in the Aljunied district led by Foreign Minister George Yeo. Low had the biggest victory margin among opposition candidates in the 2006 election in percentage terms, and has held a parliament seat since 1991.
Chance to VoteIn the 2006 elections, seven GRCs were unopposed, leaving about 936,000 Singaporeans without the opportunity to vote. In 2001, 10 GRCs were unopposed and 1.36 million eligible citizens didn’t get to vote. Singaporean citizens make up 3.2 million of the island’s population of 5.1 million.
Dissent is growing among Singaporeans who may feel less beholden to the ruling party that led the island out of colonial rule than past voters. The PAP won about 67 percent of the votes cast in 2006, down from 75 percent in the 2001 elections.
Singapore’s economic success has widened the income gap, with the world’s highest share of dollar-millionaire households contributing to higher property and consumer prices.
Singapore’s Gini coefficient, a gauge of income inequality, rose to 0.48 last year from 0.444 in 2000, according to the statistics department. A reading of zero means income equality, while a reading of one means complete inequality. Inflation accelerated to a two-year high of 5.5 percent in January.
Vote PAP or ‘Repent’The government plans to spend S$6.6 billion on benefits for citizens in this year’s budget to ease the burden of inflation.
The elder Lee, Singapore’s prime minister until 1990, appealed to voters by pointing out the PAP’s track record of boosting their wealth.
“Do not risk your assets, property values, job opportunities,” he said in an editorial in the Today newspaper last week. “Vote for men and women of proven character and track records of high performance.”
Lee also warned voters that they will “repent” if they don’t elect the ruling party.
His son used a more conciliatory tone. Prime Minister Lee, 59, apologized at a PAP rally for not moving faster to address shortfalls in housing and transportation, the Straits Times reported. “If we didn’t quite get it right, I am sorry but we will try and do better the next time,” the newspaper cited him as saying May 3.
A record 1.8 million voters cast their ballots out of 2.21 million eligible citizens, according to Channel NewsAsia. Lee has sought a new mandate from voters who voiced discontent about the rising cost of living and competition with foreigners for jobs and housing. Polls closed at 8 p.m.
“No doubt over the years the PAP has done well for Singapore, but we need a check in parliament,” said Darren Lim, who’s in his 30s and works in health care. Lim, who votes in the Aljunied constituency where the opposition is fielding its top candidates, said he expects the ruling party to retain power and plans to vote for the rival Workers’ Party.
The PAP, whose five-decade rule oversaw a 41-fold jump in gross domestic product, encountered a more vocal electorate than before, prompting a rare apology from Lee for failing to build enough public housing and expand transport links as the population grew. Lee’s efforts to boost the economy include the opening of two casino resorts, bringing the Formula One race to the island and attracting foreign workers.
The opposition drew thousands to rallies in the past two weeks, where candidates including the Workers’ Party’s Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim brought cheers with calls for a stronger voice in parliament and more affordable public housing.
‘High and Mighty’Opposition groups including the Singapore Democratic Party are vying for 82 of 87 parliamentary seats in 26 out of 27 districts. The only uncontested constituency was that of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, 87, the Cambridge University- trained lawyer who led the island from British rule and was its first premier. He’s the father of the current prime minister.
The parliament dissolved last month had 82 PAP lawmakers, two elected opposition politicians and 10 non-elected members.
“The PAP has served us well over the many years but it’s gotten too high and mighty,” said Yeo Pei Ming, 56, a vegetable merchant and resident of Aljunied. “I think it’s about time we had more opposition voices.”
The ruling party is likely to keep a majority because it retains support from citizens who have seen their wealth rise over the decades, as the island with no natural resources was built into a Southeast Asian manufacturing and financial hub.
Singapore’s gross domestic product was about S$285 billion ($231 billion) last year, compared with S$6.9 billion in 1960, based on 2005 market prices. GDP grew 14.5 percent last year, the most in Asia.
‘Concrete Solutions’“I agree that the PAP has its faults, but the opposition is not strong enough,” said Landon Lim, 31, who doesn’t have to vote because he lives in the elder Lee’s Tanjong Pagar district. “I see the opposition always pointing out PAP’s mistakes, but I want to see concrete solutions.”
Workers’ Party Chairman Lim and Secretary-General Low contested in the Aljunied district led by Foreign Minister George Yeo. Low had the biggest victory margin among opposition candidates in the 2006 election in percentage terms, and has held a parliament seat since 1991.
Chance to VoteIn the 2006 elections, seven GRCs were unopposed, leaving about 936,000 Singaporeans without the opportunity to vote. In 2001, 10 GRCs were unopposed and 1.36 million eligible citizens didn’t get to vote. Singaporean citizens make up 3.2 million of the island’s population of 5.1 million.
Dissent is growing among Singaporeans who may feel less beholden to the ruling party that led the island out of colonial rule than past voters. The PAP won about 67 percent of the votes cast in 2006, down from 75 percent in the 2001 elections.
Singapore’s economic success has widened the income gap, with the world’s highest share of dollar-millionaire households contributing to higher property and consumer prices.
Singapore’s Gini coefficient, a gauge of income inequality, rose to 0.48 last year from 0.444 in 2000, according to the statistics department. A reading of zero means income equality, while a reading of one means complete inequality. Inflation accelerated to a two-year high of 5.5 percent in January.
Vote PAP or ‘Repent’The government plans to spend S$6.6 billion on benefits for citizens in this year’s budget to ease the burden of inflation.
The elder Lee, Singapore’s prime minister until 1990, appealed to voters by pointing out the PAP’s track record of boosting their wealth.
“Do not risk your assets, property values, job opportunities,” he said in an editorial in the Today newspaper last week. “Vote for men and women of proven character and track records of high performance.”
Lee also warned voters that they will “repent” if they don’t elect the ruling party.
His son used a more conciliatory tone. Prime Minister Lee, 59, apologized at a PAP rally for not moving faster to address shortfalls in housing and transportation, the Straits Times reported. “If we didn’t quite get it right, I am sorry but we will try and do better the next time,” the newspaper cited him as saying May 3.
