Singapore election: nation awaits the people’s verdict as voting closes

The opposition is seeking to expand its reach in parliament, while the ruling PAP is aiming for a stronger mandate under new leader Lawrence Wong

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Some 2.63 million Singaporeans headed to the polls on Saturday in a general election that will serve as a defining test for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s leadership, just less than a year after he took over from Lee Hsien Loong.

A total of 92 parliamentary seats are being contested across 32 constituencies in the country’s 14th general election since independence after significant electoral boundary changes were made earlier.

Five seats in the Marine Parade group representation constituency (GRC) are already in People’s Action Party (PAP) hands after the Workers’ Party (WP) made the shock move not to contest there, marking the first walkover in the city state since 2011.

Yet the ruling PAP faces strong opposition in the northeast from WP, and in the west from the Progress Singapore Party and Singapore Democratic Party.

All eyes will be on whether the opposition can expand its foothold in parliament and cause the PAP’s vote share to slip under 60 per cent for the first time since 1965, or if the PAP’s dominance can be shaken in the face of geopolitical uncertainty and a stronger appetite for diverse voices in parliament.

Reporting by Kimberly Lim and Jean Iau