(Reuters) – Singapore holds a parliamentary election on May 3 that will be contested by 11 parties across the city state of 6 million people with 2.76 million registered to vote.
Following are details of the key parties running and some of their policy platforms.
PEOPLE’S ACTION PARTY
The conservative People’s Action Party has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965 and has dominated politics ever since. Up until 1981, it won every seat in parliament and held 83 of 93 seats in the last legislature.
The PAP has maintained its grip on power through continuity having overseen Singapore’s rapid growth, with a track record of clean governance, economic stability, attracting investment and providing measures for its people to manage persistently high living costs. It is led by Lawrence Wong, 52, Singapore’s fourth prime minister, who is contesting his first election as PAP leader.
WORKERS’ PARTY
This social democratic party is the largest among the opposition parties and was the second biggest in the last parliament, with 10 seats, a record that built on its six seats won in the previous two elections.
It is led by Pritam Singh, a 49-year-old lawyer whose main advocacy is for a more balanced political system in Singapore, with alternative voices to the PAP, with the long-term goal of the opposition controlling a third of the legislature.
PROGRESS SINGAPORE PARTY
The party was launched by former PAP lawmaker Tan Cheng Bock in 2019 after he felt the “foundations of good governance” in Singapore were being eroded. It gained two non-constituency seats in 2020 after it received the highest vote share of 48.7% in one ward among other opposition parties that lost to PAP.
SINGAPORE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
The party has a social liberal agenda with an emphasis on human rights. It has not held a parliamentary seat since 1997. The most seats it has won is 3, in 1991. It is led by Chee Soon Juan, 62, who has been sued by ruling party leaders for defamation.
(Compiled by Jun Yuan Yong, Bing Hong Lok and Martin Petty; Editing by Michael Perry)
