Singapore will go to the polls on May 3, in what will be the first electoral test for its new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
The electoral campaign, which only lasts nine days, should be the campaign dominated by the increase in the cost of living, housing needs, jobs and growing demand for health care in the midst of an aging population.
Voters are largely supposed to return the power of the action of the people (PAP) to power. PAP won all the elections since Singapore obtained the rule of self by the British in 1959.
The last elections of the country in 2020 saw the opposition worker party secure 10 seats – the largest victory for the opposition since Singapore obtained independence in 1965.
This time, ninety-seven seats are to be won.
Although the PAP won 83 seats out of 93 in 2020, it will undoubtedly seek a stronger victory this year – with the last elections considered to be a setback for the party.
According to a report by Reuters, citing the data from Polster Yougov, 44% of the 1,845 Singaporeans interviewed in March decided for those voting. Of this number, 63% say that they would choose the party in power and that 15% will support the main party of opposition workers.
The election is considered the first real test of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took office last year – by replacing the longtime Prime Minister of the city state, Lee Hsien Loong, who was the leader for 20 years.
Presenting his first budget as the country’s leader in February, Wong unveiled a series of tax discounts, documents and sectoral measures to adapt to the cost of living cost – in what some analysts call a “well -being” budget aimed at softening the land before the elections.
Since it became an independent nation in 1965, Singapore had only four prime ministers – all of the Popular Action Party (PAP) in power.
The first was Mr. Lee’s father, Lee Kuan Yew, who is widely considered to be the founder of Modern Singapore and led the country for 25 years.
Singapore’s political landscape was dominated by the PAP, although the party was shaken by a series of scandals in 2020 – including the arrest of a high minister in a corruption investigation as well as by the resignation of two legislators for an extramarial case.
Voting is compulsory for the 2.75 million eligible citizens of Singapore.
Singapore reflects the voting system of the first step of the first post, but there are key differences that make the task more difficult for opposition parties.
The assistance of deputies for the constituencies vary in size and the greatest are not represented by an individual deputy, but by a team of up to five deputies – called representative districts of the group (RCMP).
The system was introduced in 1988 as a means of including more representation of the minority groups of Singapore in the city with Chinese predominance – so that the parties can “risk” managing one or two minority candidates.
But until several years ago, the opposition parties did not have the resources to recruit enough qualified and experienced people to truly challenge these broader constituencies.
Applicants must also submit $ 13,500 S ($ 9,700: £ 7,700) to contest and need to earn more than one eighth votes to recover it.
The electoral divisions of the constituencies are also often modified to reflect population growth – the opposition parties say that this is not done transparently and is equivalent to a Gerrymandering, which the government has always denied.
