The Singapore swing - The Malaysian Insider, 9 May 2011
MAY 9 — The just-concluded general elections in Singapore provided us an insight in the way that Singapore is going politically. Certainly the dominant PAP maintained its tight hold over parliament winning 81 of the 87 seats available.
Yet their popular vote has been reduced to 60 per cent from 67 per cent in the 2006 elections. In fact in 2001, PAP received 75 per cent of the popular vote. Thus the PAP has been losing seven per cent of the popular vote every election since 2001. If the trend continues PAP will lose the government, two elections from now or by about 2020. Full story
Singapore Foreign Minister Yeo Becomes Biggest Election Casualty - Bloomberg, 9 May 2011
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, a two-decade veteran of the ruling People’s Action Party, was the biggest casualty in the nation’s elections as the opposition captured its first-ever multiple-seat district. Full story
Singapore's ruling party elected again - UPI.com, 8 May 2011
SINGAPORE, May 8 (UPI) -- Sinapore's ruling People's Action Party took 81 of 87 legislative seats in the national election but its vote share dropped, official figures showed Sunday. The party's share of the popular vote declined to 60.1 percent from 66.6 percent in the 2006 election, The Straits Times reported. Full story
A chastened PAP - Free Malaysia Today, 9 May 2011
When polling ended on Saturday, the People’s Action Party (PAP) came out looking good – and at the same time chastened.
In a seismic shift, the PAP lost not only its share of the popular vote but also its foreign minister and four other candidates. Full story
Singapore's ruling party suffers setbacks at election - The Independent, 9 May 2011
The city state's long-time ruling party won another overwhelming majority in parliamentary elections on Saturday, but the opposition made historic gains after its biggest challenge since independence in 1965.
The People's Action Party, which has ruled for five decades, won 81 of the 87 seats, capturing 60 per cent of the two million votes cast. The Workers' Party won six seats, the most ever captured by the opposition. Full story
Not business as usual for PAP - Malaysia Star, 9 May 2011
The PAP has once again taken firm command of Parliament after Saturday's general election. However inroads made by the opposition should serve as a wake-up call that it cannot be business as usual in future fights for the hearts and minds of Singapore's voters.
SINGAPORE'S ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has never been one to take chances.
Believing in its ability to identify society's best talents and recruit them into its ranks, the party developed scant respect for the electoral democracy inherent in the country's political structure. Full story
Vote Forces Singapore’s Leader to Reconsider Style - The New York Times, 9 May 2011
BANGKOK — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday that his People’s Action Party would re-examine its style of government after it was returned to power with its lowest percentage of the popular vote and its biggest loss of parliamentary seats since Singapore’s independence in 1965. Full story
Postscript to Singapore elections - Global Voices Online, 9 May 2011
Action Party (PAP) dominated the General Elections in Singapore but opposition parties also scored some important victories as well. PAP has been in power since 1959.... Full story
A win-win election? - The Economist, 8 May 2011
SINGAPORE belongs to a small category of places where a parliamentary election resulting in a victory of 81-seats-to-six, in favour of the ruling party, can be taken as a breakthrough for the opposition. Within that small category, it is probably unique in that the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) dominance relies on neither electoral fraud nor physical intimidation. Yet its dominance has been nearly absolute since 1965, when Singapore separated from Malaysia and began life as an independent city-state. Full story
Singapore Vote Watershed May Ease Lee’s Party’s Political Hold - Bloomberg, 9 May 2011
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pledged his People’s Action Party will change the way it governs after returning to power with the smallest margin of popular votes and the opposition won a record number of seats.
The party, in power since independence in 1965, won 81 out of 87 parliamentary seats and 60.1 percent of the vote on May 7, compared with about 67 percent in the 2006 election, Elections Department data show. Two cabinet members lost their seats, including Foreign Minister George Yeo, as the opposition Workers’ Party won a multiple-seat district for the first time. Full story
High living costs, rising inequality blamed for Singapore ruling party's poll defeat - DailyIndia.com, 9 May 2011
Singapore, May 9: Singapore’s ruling party suffered its worst-ever election result since independence in 1965 as youthful opposition parties tapped voter anger over high living costs and rising inequality in the wealthy city-state. Unofficial results showed the opposition had garnered around 40 percent of the two million votes cast in Saturday’s election. Full story
mrbrown on polling night of the Singapore General Elections - CNNGo.com, 9 May 2011
Once every five years, the elections roll around and make me the busiest person on the planet.
Being the Grand Central of elections humor is not a job I take lightly. My wife becomes an Elections Widow as I spend hours at the coffee shop listening to old men gripe and complain and attending rallies to see if politicians will say something stupid (they do not disappoint). Full story
Democratic gap narrows in Singapore - Asia Times Online, 9 May 2011
SINGAPORE - Voters returned the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to power on Saturday, giving the long-ruling party 81 seats out of the 87 parliamentary seats contested. The opposition turned in its best performance on record, winning nearly 40% of the popular vote and handing the PAP its poorest showing since the island state achieved independence in 1965. Full story
Singapore Foreign Minister Yeo Is Biggest Election Casualty - BusinessWeek, 9 May 2011
May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, a two-decade veteran of the ruling People’s Action Party, was the biggest casualty in the nation’s elections as the opposition captured its first-ever multiple-seat district.
The Workers’ Party won the five-seat district of Aljunied, defeating the PAP ticket led by Yeo. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s PAP, which has ruled Singapore for more than five decades, won 81 out of 87 parliamentary seats and 60.1 percent of the popular vote in the May 7 polls, according to the Elections Department. Full story
Singapore has changed - Sin Chew Jit Poh, 9 May 2011
Singapore's general election is over and the Worker's Party (WP) has made a breakthrough by winning the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) under the wind of change. It has played a role model in the country's democratic process and wrote a new chapter for its history.
In fact, it should be regarded as a major victory in any democratic elections of the world as the ruling PAP has gained 81 out of the total 87 seats in Parliament. However, due to the country's special conditions and electoral system, the result can still be interpreted as a major setback for the ruling party. Full story
Singapore rulers begin soul-searching after election - Monsters and Critics, 9 May 2011
Singapore - Singapore's ruling People's Action Party (PAP) started some soul-searching after returning to power in Saturday's parliamentary election with the smallest margin of votes in decades and the opposition winning a record number of seats.
The PAP won 60.1 per cent of the votes, its lowest result since the city-state gained independence in 1965. The opposition captured its first-ever multiple-seat district and won six of 87 seats, according to the Elections Department. Full story
Popularity for Singapore's ruling party fades - BBC News
Singaporeans have re-elected their ruling party, the People's Action Party, as was widely predicted.
It was the nation's most hotly contested elections in decades, with the PAP losing a large share of the popular vote.
Rising immigration, inflation and a widening income gap were key election issues which are expected to continue to haunt the government going forward. Full story
PAP Needs To Change Following GE Results, Says Academician - Bernama.com, 9 May 2011
SINGAPORE, May 9 (Bernama) -- The outcome of Singapore's 2011 general election has sent a clear signal to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to seriously consider the grievances of Singaporeans if it were to maintain its political dominance, says Associate Professor Hussin Mutalib of the Political Science Department in the National University of Singapore (NUS). Full story
Round-up: Singapore elections & social media stories - Asian Correspondent, 9 May 2011
This weekend saw the long awaited results of the watershed 2011 Singapore general elections which will go down in history for the role that the internet, and social networks in particular, played during the electoral campaign.
The dominant PAP party win once again, but some of the figures are very interesting... Full story
