The ruling party will continue to occupy a supermajority of seats, now at 87 of the 97 elected seats while its main rival, the Workers’ Party (WP), has the remaining 10 and two non-constituency MP seats. These non-constituency positions were first created in 1984 to ensure a minimum opposition presence in parliament.
The PAP has ruled Singapore for 66 years, since the island achieved self-governance from the British in 1959, and the party is set to beat handily the current record of being the longest-running political party in government as it serves out the new parliamentary term of five years.
“What about the PAP? We are not far behind. We are 65 years … Of course, we want to keep serving Singaporeans for as long as possible. But we must never assume that we will not see a change in government in our lifetimes,” said Wong as the party celebrated its 70th anniversary.
This Week in Asia has contacted the PAP for comment.
