Singapore PM Lee looks set to win another term
Singapore voted on Friday to elect the country’s 14th Parliament, in the midst of the pandemic and slowing economic growth. The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), led by incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was comfortably leading in the sample count at the time of going to press.
However, initial trends suggested a tougher contest than expected, with the Opposition parties’ vote share rising significantly in key GRCS (group representation constituencies).
The Workers’ Party (WP) was projected to have put up a good fight, stating the need for a minimum national wage, tightening of employment pass (EP) approvals to foreigners, and abolishment of the ethnic quota in sale of HDB (housing development board) flats, in a move to attract votes of the youth and those of ethnic minorities.
The other theme dominating the polls was PM Lee’s estranged brother Lee Hsien Yang, who joined the new outfit Progress Singapore Party, founded by the former PAP stalwart Tan Cheng Bock earlier in 2019.
The outcome holds significance for India, with PM Lee having called for increased economic cooperation between India and ASEAN, in November 2019, given the combined GDP of $5.5 trillion.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore) total bilateral trade stood at SG$26.4 billion in 2018. In addition, Singapore became India’s largest investor in 2018.