Singapore ruling party stages crushing election win

Singapore

Singapore's ruling People's Action Party (PAP) extended 56 years in power on Saturday after a lopsided snap election that dashed hopes of a two-party system in the city-state.

Friday's vote, which saw the party take 83 of 89 seats and nearly 70 per cent of the ballots cast, stunned opponents and reversed a plunge in the PAP's share of the popular vote in 2011.

It strengthened the mandate of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong amid an economic slowdown, with analysts warning the trade-dependent economy could suffer a technical recession in the third quarter.

"It is a good result for the PAP but it is an excellent result for Singapore," said Lee, 63, who admitted the outcome exceeded the party's own expectations.

"The results will be noted by the outside world... I believe these results will greatly bolster confidence in Singapore and Singapore's future."

The United States immediately congratulated Lee and the PAP for the victory.

"The people of Singapore have spoken and, in doing so, have once again united to demonstrate their commitment to free and fair elections," US Ambassador Kirk Wagar said in a statement.

The election came six months after the death of Lee's father, independence leader Lee Kuan Yew, plunged Singapore into mourning and generated a wave of patriotism which analysts have called "the LKY effect."

The PAP led Singapore, a former British colonial outpost, to industrialised status in just one generation but has been criticised for jailing dissidents and using defamation suits to cripple the opposition particularly during the elder Lee's 31-year rule until 1990.

There was never any doubt the PAP would again win a majority - but the results were a marked improvement for the party over the 2011 vote, when it took 80 of the 87 seats but saw its share of votes plunge to an all-time low of 60pc.

Low Thia Khiang, leader of the main opposition Workers' Party (WP), vowed his party would rebound.

"You win, you lose. So I think that is part and parcel of life," he told reporters Friday.