A survey found Singaporeans were most worried about inflation and the economy ahead of this year’s general election. -- Photo: AFP
SINGAPORE (SCMP): As Singapore heads into an election year, over a quarter of respondents in a survey said they have yet to make up their minds on who they will cast their ballot for.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took office last May, has yet to call the election that must take place by November.
In a study by independent pollster Blackbox Research of 1,310 Singaporeans over the age of 21, 27 per cent said they were still undecided on who they will vote for in the first general election under Wong’s leadership.
Among them, 21 per cent of participants said they were “not very certain”, while 6 per cent were “not certain at all”.
The survey, conducted between January 2 and 13, also found that younger voters were more indecisive, with a third of the respondents aged 21 to 29 expressing uncertainty.
Though 87 per cent of Singaporeans were pleased with their MPs’ work, 25 per cent of people aged 60 and above expected better performance from lawmakers.
Wong’s People’s Action Party (PAP) has kept its grip on power since Singapore’s independence in 1965, but appetite for opposition in parliament is growing.
The main opposition Workers’ Party won a record 10 of 93 seats in the last election in 2020.
In the survey, 18 per cent of residents in western Singapore, a PAP bastion, described their local representatives’ performance as “not good” or “bad”.
Singapore's PAP will face the coming elections under Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's leadership. - Photo: The Straits Times/ANN
While opposition strongholds are located in the city state’s northeast, West Coast has been touted as one to watch in the coming election.
Former transport chief S Iswaran, who was jailed for a year for accepting gifts as a public servant and obstructing justice, had been the anchor minister in the constituency.
West Coast was also the ruling party’s slimmest win in the 2020 election, where it secured 51.68 per cent of the vote, edging out Progress Singapore Party, helmed by former PAP MP Tan Cheng Bock.
Volunteers from the two parties were recently involved in a scuffle in the western neighbourhood after accusing each other of harassment.
The survey showed Singaporeans were most worried about cost of living, inflation, jobs and the economy, while political scandals or candidates’ educational qualifications ranked lowly for voters.
Voters aged under 49 highlighted rising home prices as one of the top three election issues.
According to founder and chief executive of Blackbox Research David Black, Singaporeans prioritised livelihood issues over everything else.
“Stability, performance, and tangible improvements in areas like local government services and the cost of living are very much at the front of mind in the electorate,” Black said.
“As we edge closer to GE2025, it’s clear that voters are more focused on their own balance sheets than they are on any wider themes.”
Political analysts This Week in Asia spoke to said that it was unsurprising for a quarter of Singaporeans to be undecided about who they would vote for.
Independent political observer Felix Tan noted that since the public was not sure when the election would be held, this group might just represent those who were generally rather apathetic.
Tan said that Singaporeans tended to be more concerned about issues that had a direct effect on them when it came to selecting who to vote for.
“Singaporeans are a pragmatic lot, and many are only concerned for themselves. The scandals have little effect on them except as fodder for gossip and coffee shop talk,” he said.
Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said the sentiments revealed in the survey could vary in the run up to the election.
“The acid test is not whether the ruling party will win, but rather what will be the popular vote it will receive under a new prime minister who will be seeking a strong mandate to start off his prime ministership on a high note,” he said. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
