On the Singaporean general election of 2020
The Singaporean general election of 2020 which took place yesterday returned the governing People's Action Party with a large majority yet again, rather predictable.
However, the opposition, led by the Worker's Party and parties that agreed to anti-PAP pacts including the Progress Party, People's Voice, Reform Party, Singapore Democratic Party, Singapore People's Party, the National Solidarity Party, People's Voice, and Red Dot United, managed to win the highest number of seats ever for the opposition since Singaporean independence occurred in 1959. They managed to win 10 seats, by gaining Sengkang GRC (Group Representation Constituency, a type of constituency unique to Singapore where teams of candidates either win all of the seats or none at all), holding Hougang SMC (Single Member Constituency) and holding Aljuned GRC with a 9% swing in their favour against the PAP. This notably resulted in the defeat of Ng Chee Meng, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (equivalent to a minister without portfolio), and for the first time the PAP's share of parliamentary seats in Singapore dropped below 90%, and their vote share dropped to 61.24%.
Although they emerged triumphant once again, this election is a clear sign that the PAP's grip on political power in Singapore has cracked somewhat; the opposition candidates achieved significant swings against the PAP in every Singaporean constituency; only the Singapore Democratic Alliance of Desmond Lim lost votes, which was primarily due to negotiations with People's Voice breaking down. Two GRCs, West Coast and East Coast, both had PAP majorities below 10%, as did Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang SMCs. None of these four constituencies were contested by the Workers' Party but by allied parties, which is also a clear sign that Singaporeans opposed to the PAP's dominance are more inclined to vote for the WP because of the "brand recognition" that opposition party has acquired since the historic by-election win of the late Joshua Jeyaretnam in 1981.
Although the political sea change Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamed, hoped for this year did not happen (as it did in Malaysia in 2018), it nevertheless represents substantial progress for the combined opposition. It is conceivable, if rather unlikely, that the PAP could lose power in Singapore in the next decade.
However, the opposition, led by the Worker's Party and parties that agreed to anti-PAP pacts including the Progress Party, People's Voice, Reform Party, Singapore Democratic Party, Singapore People's Party, the National Solidarity Party, People's Voice, and Red Dot United, managed to win the highest number of seats ever for the opposition since Singaporean independence occurred in 1959. They managed to win 10 seats, by gaining Sengkang GRC (Group Representation Constituency, a type of constituency unique to Singapore where teams of candidates either win all of the seats or none at all), holding Hougang SMC (Single Member Constituency) and holding Aljuned GRC with a 9% swing in their favour against the PAP. This notably resulted in the defeat of Ng Chee Meng, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (equivalent to a minister without portfolio), and for the first time the PAP's share of parliamentary seats in Singapore dropped below 90%, and their vote share dropped to 61.24%.
Although they emerged triumphant once again, this election is a clear sign that the PAP's grip on political power in Singapore has cracked somewhat; the opposition candidates achieved significant swings against the PAP in every Singaporean constituency; only the Singapore Democratic Alliance of Desmond Lim lost votes, which was primarily due to negotiations with People's Voice breaking down. Two GRCs, West Coast and East Coast, both had PAP majorities below 10%, as did Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang SMCs. None of these four constituencies were contested by the Workers' Party but by allied parties, which is also a clear sign that Singaporeans opposed to the PAP's dominance are more inclined to vote for the WP because of the "brand recognition" that opposition party has acquired since the historic by-election win of the late Joshua Jeyaretnam in 1981.
Although the political sea change Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamed, hoped for this year did not happen (as it did in Malaysia in 2018), it nevertheless represents substantial progress for the combined opposition. It is conceivable, if rather unlikely, that the PAP could lose power in Singapore in the next decade.
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