Singapore PM Lee to step down on May 15
Ruto
SINGAPORE, April 15, (AP): Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday that he will step down on May 15 after two decades at the helm, and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong.
Lee, 72, will formally advise the city-state’s president to appoint Wong, who is currently deputy prime minister and finance minister, to succeed him, his office said in a brief statement. Wong, who has the unanimous support of lawmakers in the long-ruling People’s Action Party, will be sworn in at the national palace later the same day, it said.
Lee has served as prime minister and head of the PAP since August 2004.
Lee announced last November that he would retire this year and has already named Wong as his designated successor. Lee originally planned to step down before turning 70, but those plans were shelved because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leadership
“For any country, a leadership transition is a significant moment. Lawrence and the 4G (fourth-generation) team have worked hard to gain the people’s trust, notably during the pandemic,” Lee said in a Facebook post on Monday. “I ask all Singaporeans to give Lawrence and his team your full support, and work with them to create a brighter future for Singapore.”
Lee has said there is no reason to delay the political transition and that passing the baton to Wong before national elections due next year will allow the 51-year-old politician to win his own mandate and take the country forward.
Wong came to prominence while helping to coordinate Singapore’s fight against COVID-19. He will be the city-state’s fourth leader since its independence in 1965.
PAP, one of the world’s longestserving parties, retained its super majority with 83 out of 93 parliamentary seats in 2020 general elections. But that was its worst performance after losing some seats and support slipped.
Lee is the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, who became Singapore’s first prime minister and built the resourcepoor city-state into one of the world’s richest nations during 31 years in office. But Singapore has also been criticized for its tight government control, media censorship and use of oppressive laws and civil lawsuits against
dissidents.
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The country in which has gained most influence in the South Pacific,
goes to the polls on Wednesday in an election that could shape the region’s future.
Current Prime Minister
who switched the Solomons’ allegiance from to and ignited fears of China gaining a naval foothold in the South Pacific, is seeking an unprecedented second consecutive term at the government’s helm.
Even if Sogavare fails, observers suspect China will be backing more than one pro-Beijing candidate in the murky contest for the Solomons’ top job in an effort to cement Beijing’s growing influence.
Islands, Sogavare, Taiwan Solomon Manasseh Beijing
There are also fears the electoral process could again ignite violence in a restive nation riven with inter-island and ethnic tensions, a perceived lack of sharing of resources, widespread poverty and high youth unemployment.
Voters from among 700,000 people spread over the more than 900 islands that comprise the Solomon Islands will elect 50 lawmakers from 334 candidates. Only 21 candidates are women and none of them is currently in office. The only two women in the current parliament won’t contest the election.
The 50 newly elected lawmakers then decide which of them will become prime minister. No political party ever wins the 26-seat majority needed to form a government in a system derived from the former British colonial masters’ Westminster system.