Singaporean President S.R. Nathan dissolved parliament yesterday, paving the way for a general election that must be held within three months.
Nathan made the move on the advice of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍), 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.
State media reported yesterday that Singapore would hold the general election on May 7.
Nominations will take place on April 27, Channel NewsAsia said.
The previous general election was held in May 2006, when Lee’s ruling People Action Party (PAP) won all but two of the 84 parliamentary seats.
However, 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 last year at 14.5 percent.
However, 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.
A small but feisty opposition will likely challenge the PAP in most voting districts, seeking to capitalize on voter discontent with soaring housing costs and a surge in foreign workers. In past elections, many PAP candidates ran unopposed.
Former Singaporean prime minister Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟) acknowledged in remarks published yesterday 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 asking 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 (李光耀), will be leading the PAP in political battle for the second time since taking office in August 2004.
Lee Kuan Yew, who was prime minister from 1959 to 1990 is expected to run for a seat again to maintain his Cabinet position of “minister mentor.”
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