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Singapore’s People’s Action Party won its 16th consecutive election on Saturday, increasing its share of the popular vote as voters in the trade-dependent country backed stability in the face of rising geopolitical tensions.
The PAP — whose winning streak dates back to 1959 when Singapore was a British colony — secured 87 out of 97 seats in results that were announced in the early hours of Sunday morning, including five uncontested seats.
Under prime minister Lawrence Wong, who was elevated to the role a year ago, the party received 66 per cent of the popular vote, higher than 61 per cent in the last election in 2020 and its highest margin of victory for a decade.
This year’s election was set against the backdrop of an escalating global trade war, sparked by a package of tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump a month ago.
With Singapore’s global trade equivalent to more than three times its GDP, the financial and commercial hub — which plays a crucial role in the exchange of goods and services between China and the west — is seen as especially vulnerable to a downturn in global trade.
“The results will put Singapore in a better position to face this turbulent world,” said Wong during a speech at 3am in which he called the election a “clear signal of trust, stability and confidence”.
The election was viewed as a crucial test for 52-year-old Wong and the PAP as it looks to a future beyond the Lee dynasty, which has dominated Singaporean politics for the past seven decades and overseen the city-state’s transformation from a developing nation into one of the richest in the world.
Wong took over from Lee Hsien Loong, the son of the country’s modern founder, Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Hsien Loong, who retains an influential advisory role within the government, had run the country for 20 years.
As with recent elections in Canada and Australia, the incumbent performed well in the face of mounting geopolitical uncertainty.
Singapore has cut its growth forecast for the year from 1-3 per cent to 0-2 per cent on the prospect of a disruption to global trade and warned of a possible recession.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio congratulated Wong and the PAP on their victory, adding: “For nearly 60 years, the United States and Singapore have shared a strong and enduring strategic partnership and a commitment to a secure, free, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.”
The Workers’ Party, the main opposition group, won 10 seats as it did five years ago, but will receive an additional two so-called non-constituency seats due to how close it ran the PAP in some constituencies.
Pritam Singh, leader of the Workers’ Party, acknowledged it had been a tough campaign, before which he had been found guilty of lying to parliament in a case he is contesting.
“The slate is wiped clean, we start work again tomorrow, and we go again,” he said.