Polling begins in Singapore's general election

Singapore, May 3 (IANS) Polling stations across Singapore opened at 8:00 a.m. (local time) on Saturday for the country's general election.

A total of 211 candidates, including two independents, are contesting the 97 elected parliamentary seats. Of these 97 seats, five in a multi-member constituency have already been secured by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), as no opposition candidates were fielded there.

The PAP, the ruling party since Singapore's independence in 1965, is fielding 97 candidates and contesting every seat. This election marks the first time Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is leading the party into a general election after succeeding Lee Hsien Loong in May 2024, following Lee's two-decade tenure, reports Xinhua news agency.

In the 2020 general election, the PAP garnered 61.24 per cent of the popular vote, down from 69.86 per cent in 2015.

Beyond determining the makeup of the next parliament, the election will also influence the formation of Singapore's next cabinet, which will be responsible for steering the country through rising global uncertainty, particularly in the wake of sweeping US tariffs.

Both Wong and Lee have repeatedly warned that recent global developments could have lasting repercussions for Singapore's open economy.

During the May Day Rally on Thursday, Wong cautioned that recent global shifts "may cause further disruptions and may cause further price shocks," potentially exacerbating cost-of-living pressures for Singaporeans.

The Workers' Party (WP), the only opposition party to win seats in the previous election, expanded its representation from six seats in 2015 to ten in 2020. This year, the WP is fielding 26 candidates across eight constituencies in a bid widely viewed as an effort to extend its presence into the broader eastern region.

One of the most closely watched races is in the Punggol multi-member constituency in eastern Singapore, described by local media as the "eye of the storm." The PAP team there is led by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who also serves as Minister for Trade and Industry and chairs the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce, established in April to support businesses and workers amid ongoing global challenges. The WP team is headed by senior lawyer Harpreet Singh Nehal.

Five constituencies are witnessing multi-cornered contests, with the fiercest reported in Tampines in the east, where three opposition parties are challenging the incumbent PAP team.

Approximately 2.76 million people are eligible to vote in this year's election. Polling stations are scheduled to close at 8:00 p.m. (local time).

--IANS

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