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Singaporeans
prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday, Sept.
11, …
Singaporeans
prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday, Sept.
11, …
Singaporeans
prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday, Sept.
11, …
Singaporeans
prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday, Sept.
11, …
Singaporeans
wait in line to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday,
Sept. …
Singaporeans
prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday, Sept.
11, …
A Singaporean
prepares to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday, Sept.
11, …
SINGAPORE (AP) — Just as
expected, the party that has ruled Singapore since it became a
country a half-century ago appeared poised to stay in power
for five more years as the city-state's citizens voted Friday
in a compulsory election. But the percentage of votes the People's
Action Party actually receives will be watched as a barometer of
its popularity during tough economic times.
Riding on a wave
of public dissatisfaction the opposition hopes to increase its
strength in Parliament from the meagre seven seats it currently
holds, all by the Workers' Party. During the campaign they
emphasized the growing income disparity, restrictions on free
speech, overcrowding caused by immigration and rising cost of
living -- Singapore is the world's most expensive city, according
to an international survey.
"I am voting for
the next 50 years," said Deon Gan, 47, an accounts manager.
"Hopefully there will be improvements in transport and housing,"
she said before voting in the Toa Payoh district.
But the PAP also
hopes to capitalize on a sympathy wave following the death of
Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, in March. Lee, a PAP
stalwart, became the country's first prime minister at independence
in 1965, and remained in office until 1990. His son, Lee Hsien
Loong, the current prime minister, has been in office since 2004.
In between, another PAP leader Goh Chok Tong was the prime
minister.
"Every election is
different. We always watch carefully. We have done our best," Lee
said after casting his vote. "This is a major turning point for
Singapore."
At one polling
center in a primary school, lines started to form as soon as polls
opened at 8 a.m. Some voters wore masks to protect themselves from
a smoky haze that has enveloped Singapore as a result of forest
fires in neighboring Indonesia. Polls will close at 8 p.m. (1200
GMT), with the first results available about 2 hours later.
Some voters headed
to the polls before doing their grocery shopping, and younger
voters brought their elderly parents - some in wheelchairs, others
needing assistance to walk as voting is mandatory.
"I have so many
problems and I can't get a house, even after approaching my current
member of parliament. I hope someone can improve my life and who
can help me," said Habeeb Mohamed bin Abdul Raman, a 74-year-old
retiree, leaving the polling station with his elderly wife and
daughter.
While the PAP's
current tally of 80 seats in the outgoing 87-member Parliament may
signify an overwhelming dominance, the truth is that it did so by
winning only 60 percent of the votes cast in the 2011 elections.
The PAP has long benefited from the weak opposition which has not
even been able to contest all seats, handing the PAP uncontested
victories in many constituencies.
Reuben Wong, a
political science professor at the National University of
Singapore, said even a 56 to 60 percent share of the votes would
still be respectable for the PAP because "the electorate has become
more diverse and sophisticated, the opposition parties are also
more professionally run."
"A vote share of
60 percent and above would be an excellent showing (for the PAP),"
he said.
For the first time
in Singapore's history the opposition will contest all seats in
Parliament, whose strength has been increased to 89 members in
Friday's elections.
The PAP has also
benefited from a system in which some constituencies are
represented by a group of four to six lawmakers. In a
winner-takes-all, first-past-the-post system, all members of the
victorious team get entry into Parliament. But in the last
elections, the Workers' Party wrested one such multi-candidate ward
from the PAP, sending five candidates to Parliament, out of the
seven seats it won.
There are about
2.46 million eligible voters — in a population of 5.47 million — up
from 2.35 million in 2011, with an increased number of voters born
after independence. Most of these young voters take Singapore's
prosperity, stability and a corruption-free, low-crime society for
granted. These were the main selling points of the PAP in past
elections, which appealed to the first few generations that saw
Singapore rise from a backward trading port city to a thriving and
technologically advanced metropolis, and the 9th richest country in
the world.
But voters are now
asking uncomfortable questions about the restrictions on free
speech and media, which they had been willing to sacrifice in
return for economic prosperity. They also see an increasing number
of immigrants from all over Asia, filling not only low-paying jobs
but also middle-level and high-paying positions.
There have also
been questions about the country's much-vaunted pension scheme with
many wondering if retirees are reaping real benefits. In the last
quarter ending in June, Singapore's economy contracted by 4
percent, and the annual growth rate is projected to be 1.8
percent.
The Workers' Party
is contesting 28 seats and eight other smaller opposition parties
and two independents are contesting the remaining seats. This means
that even if the Workers' Party wins all 28 seats it won't be able
to form a government with a minimum 45 seats required. There are
also no plans for the party to be in a coalition with other
parties.
__
Associated Press
writer Vijay Joshi in Bangkok contributed to this report.