Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of the People's Action Party celebrates after winning the general election in Singapore on September 12, 2015. Singaporeans voted on September 11 in the most hotly contested election in the country's history after massive turnouts at opposition rallies boosted chances that a two-party system will emerge from half a century of domination by the ruling party. The People's Action Party (PAP), co-founded by the late independence leader Lee Kuan Yew and now led by his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is widely expected to retain a clear majority in the 89-seat parliament. AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images
SINGAPORE—Every four or five years, Singaporeans vote in general elections without ever asking the question: Which party can best run the government? That’s a no-brainer. It’s the same party that’s been ruling the wealthy Southeast Asian city-state for a half-century. The question most ask instead is how much voice should they give the opposition.
That explains the overwhelming majority that the People’s Action Party has won in every election since independence in 1965, including the last one on Friday, which returned it with an even greater share of the votes than before. It was a result that any political party in the world would salivate over—83 of 89 seats in Parliament and 70 percent of all votes cast.
In some ways, it was the direct outcome of the PAP’s relatively poor showing in the 2011 elections, when even though it won 81 of the 87 seats at stake, it garnered only 60 percent of the votes.
Singapore is among the most expensive cities in the world while being the ninth-richest nation on an annual per capita income basis, one spot ahead of the United States.
