Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965.
The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people.
His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively in their first elections as prime minister.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The ballot is the first big test for 52-year-old Wong and his party’s share of the popular vote would be closely watched after one of its worst performances in the 2020 contest.
The election also comes as Singapore faces uncertainty in its trade-reliant economy and the possibility of a recession and job losses caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, even though the wealthy city-state would be subject to only a 10 percent levy, compared with much steeper levies imposed on its neighbors.
Last week, Singapore downgraded its growth forecast for this year to 0 to 2 percent from the previous 1 to 3 percent range.
The PAP would be boosted by a walkover in a contest with five seats, with opposition parties fielding candidates for only 92 of the 97 available parliamentary spots in a surprise pullout by the Workers’ Party in one constituency.
In a departure from previous elections, the PAP and its main opposition played their cards close to their chests, revealing candidates in key races only late on, among them Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong (顏金勇), who changed constituency at the 11th hour.
PAP politicians who stepped down include old guard heavyweights Singaporean Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen (黃永宏), Singaporean Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean (張志賢) and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (王瑞傑), who was once tipped for the prime minister spot.
The Workers’ Party, which has a long-term goal of winning a third of seats, is fielding just 26 candidates. Although it alone poses no significant threat to the PAP’s rule, it has steadily gained ground in the past few elections, with an unprecedented six seats in 2011 and 2015, and 10 in 2020.
Chief among election issues for the 2.76 million registered voters would be living costs and the fallout of trade tensions.
In a swipe at his opponents on Tuesday, Wong said Singaporeans would hear “many tempting proposals” ahead of the election that might not be sound.
“If they weaken our public finances, the burden will fall on our children. If we mismanage the economy, investors will lose confidence and our incomes will suffer,” he wrote on social media.
POLITICAL PRISONERS VS DEPORTEES: Venezuela’s prosecutor’s office slammed the call by El Salvador’s leader, accusing him of crimes against humanity Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Sunday proposed carrying out a prisoner swap with Venezuela, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the US his government has kept imprisoned for what he called “political prisoners” in Venezuela. In a post on X, directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bukele listed off a number of family members of high-level opposition figures in Venezuela, journalists and activists detained during the South American government’s electoral crackdown last year. “The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral fraud,” he wrote to Maduro. “However, I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Young women standing idly around a park in Tokyo’s west suggest that a giant statue of Godzilla is not the only attraction for a record number of foreign tourists. Their faces lit by the cold glow of their phones, the women lining Okubo Park are evidence that sex tourism has developed as a dark flipside to the bustling Kabukicho nightlife district. Increasing numbers of foreign men are flocking to the area after seeing videos on social media. One of the women said that the area near Kabukicho, where Godzilla rumbles and belches smoke atop a cinema, has become a “real
‘POINT OF NO RETURN’: The Caribbean nation needs increased international funding and support for a multinational force to help police tackle expanding gang violence The top UN official in Haiti on Monday sounded an alarm to the UN Security Council that escalating gang violence is liable to lead the Caribbean nation to “a point of no return.” Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti Maria Isabel Salvador said that “Haiti could face total chaos” without increased funding and support for the operation of the Kenya-led multinational force helping Haiti’s police to tackle the gangs’ expanding violence into areas beyond the capital, Port-Au-Prince. Most recently, gangs seized the city of Mirebalais in central Haiti, and during the attack more than 500 prisoners were freed, she said.
RSS