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Singapore’s Nomination Day begins on Wednesday with some uncertainty, as the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has yet to reveal its line-up in expected key battlegrounds, suggesting the possibility of eleventh-hour re-deployments among cabinet ministers to shore itself up against its main opponent, the Workers’ Party (WP).
The city state will hold its 14th general election since independence on May 3, in what analysts have said would be a test of public confidence in Lawrence Wong’s leadership. Wong leads the party as prime minister for the first time since taking office last May.
But the vote is more than a referendum on Wong. It will also be read as a barometer of how well his team of fourth-generation leaders – otherwise known as the 4G – has handled a series of pressing issues such as the rising cost of living, jobs and affordable housing.
The election is expected to be hotly contested, as the PAP will look to staunch the WP’s expansion in the northeast of the country.
Since 2015, the opposition has made a bid for every seat in every election, and this poll should be no different, with parties staking claims to all 97 seats up for grabs.
While the PAP is expected to be returned to power comfortably, political observers will be watching whether Wong will be able to keep its vote share at or above 60 per cent – a threshold the party has never breached since independence in 1965.
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