{"id":9863,"date":"2025-03-21T05:56:45","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T05:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itasean.org\/?p=9863"},"modified":"2025-03-21T05:56:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T05:56:50","slug":"singapore-verso-le-elezioni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itasean.org\/en\/singapore-verso-le-elezioni\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore heads to the polls"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2025, Singapore celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence and will hold general elections. Since 1965, the city-state has had only four prime ministers and one ruling party. Could there ever be surprises in the island of stability?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Article by Pierfrancesco Mattiolo<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

2024 was perhaps \"the greatest electoral year in the history of humanity<\/a>,\" with approximately four billion people worldwide called to the polls. To name just a few contests: the European Union, the United States, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In 2025, it will be the turn of (inter alia) Singapore. Almost all these elections have generated a certain level of anticipation and uncertainty for the future. In contrast, Singapore\u2019s elections seem rather predictable. Since gaining independence from Malaysia nearly 60 years ago, the city-state has been governed by a single party, the People's Action Party (PAP), and has had only four prime ministers. The current Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, succeeded Lee Hsien Loong this past May<\/a>. Lee Hsien Loong is the son of Lee Kuan Yew, the \"founding father\" of modern Singapore. The two Lees, father and son, served as the first and third prime ministers of Singapore, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After turning 70, Lee Jr. handed over the position to his deputy, Wong, just in time for the latter to establish himself ahead of next year\u2019s elections. The exact date of the election is still unclear<\/a>. Usually, Parliament is dissolved before the automatic dissolution required by the Constitution and after the committee tasked with redrawing constituency boundaries has convened. Formally, it is the President of the Republic who dissolves Parliament, upon the Prime Minister\u2019s recommendation, which is, in turn, approved by Parliament. In other words, the electoral process is firmly in the hands of the PAP, which controls both the government and Parliament with a supermajority of over two-thirds of the seats. Uncertainty surrounds both the election date and the boundaries of the constituencies. In Singapore, constituencies are redrawn almost every election; as mentioned, the committee\u2019s meeting is an informal milestone in the lead-up to the polls. These uncertainties make it more difficult for the opposition to plan their activities, as their candidates are unaware of their constituency boundaries or when to take time off work to campaign. The PAP, on the other hand, can deploy full-time politicians who are prepared when the short campaign officially begins, thanks to its near monopoly on public offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These challenges, combined with a heavily majoritarian electoral system, have allowed the PAP to maintain a parliamentary supermajority since independence. In 2020, the PAP won 83 out of 93 seats with 61% of the vote. The two main opposition parties, the Workers\u2019 Party and the Progress Singapore Party, each garnered about 10%. The upcoming elections could offer the opposition an opportunity to chip away at the PAP's dominance, weakened by a series of scandals and the leadership transition from Lee to Wong. Wong is aiming for generational renewal to change the party\u2019s image<\/a>, which has become too closely associated with power and the country\u2019s economic elites. There is also public dissatisfaction with the extremely high salaries of government members: Wong is, in fact, the highest-paid prime minister in the world ($2.2 million annually, compared to the average Singaporean income of $47,000 annually). These figures put debates over politicians' salaries in most countries (e.g., Italy) into a different perspective. The PAP defends its position by arguing that high salaries are necessary to attract talent from the private sector to public service, and indeed Singapore\u2019s public administration is considered among the most efficient in the world<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As seen in many countries, anti-establishment rhetoric can lead to surprising electoral results, and analysts suggest the PAP should not underestimate this risk. Wong, however, can set a very favourable electoral timetable for himself. The island celebrates its 60th Independence Day on 9 August, marking the anniversary of its expulsion from the Malaysian Federation due to deep political differences. National Day is followed annually, just a few days later, by National Rally Day, during which the Prime Minister delivers a speech outlining the government\u2019s priorities. Elections will likely be held in early September, immediately following this period of government-led patriotic celebrations led by the government. Wong will also have several months to implement popular policies<\/a> and adopt a more socially conscious approach, addressing the demands of lower-income voters.\nIt is difficult to imagine surprises in next year\u2019s elections. In these times of electoral upheaval, Singapore could be one of the few countries to emerge from the polls with a predictable political outcome. Voters will be choosing between the stability and continuity offered by the PAP and the change promised by the opposition, which has been excluded from power since the country\u2019s independence. How will Singaporeans be convinced? On the one hand, the small size of the country, with two and a half million voters, could make grassroots mobilisation initiatives effective. On the other hand, the PAP relies on the support of the state apparatus and mainstream media. According to its critics, it does not hesitate to marginalise potentially critical voices. Some years ago, the independent website The Online Citizen was forced to temporarily suspend its activities due to alleged irregularities in publishing its revenue. In 2021, a law against \"foreign interference\" was passed, which Amnesty International harshly criticised<\/a>. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit\u2019s Democracy Index 2023, Singapore (alongside Italy) is listed as a \u201cflawed democracy.\u201d<\/a> In a \"perfect\" democracy electoral surprises are, perhaps, quite frequent.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nel 2025 Singapore celebra il 60\u00b0 anniversario dell\u2019indipendenza e terr\u00e0 elezioni generali. Dal 1965 ad oggi, Singapore ha avuto solamente quattro primi ministri e un unico partito al potere. Potranno esserci mai sorprese nell\u2019isola dell\u2019ordine? Articolo di Pierfrancesco Mattiolo Il 2024 \u00e8 stato forse \u201cil pi\u00f9 grande anno elettorale della storia dell\u2019umanit\u00e0\u201d, con circa quattroContinue reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":9864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":[],"_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":""},"categories":[513,90],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSingapore verso le elezioni - Associazione Italia Asean<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itasean.org\/en\/singapore-verso-le-elezioni\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Singapore verso le elezioni - Associazione Italia Asean\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nel 2025 Singapore celebra il 60\u00b0 anniversario dell\u2019indipendenza e terr\u00e0 elezioni generali. 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