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Will Singapore’s PAP rule forever?

PressNewsAgency
By PressNewsAgency

Few political parties in the world know dominance the way Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) does, as it looks set to become the longest-running administration in modern history.
Following a resounding victory in May’s general election, the city state will on Friday open its 15th parliament that will largely resemble previous party alignments.

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.

Last November, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong acknowledged that very few political parties had been in power for as long as his, as he referred to the longest-running administration in the world thus far, Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, which led the country for 71 years from 1929 to 2000.

“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.

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