Desire for political diversity in Singapore has dropped: IPS post-GE2015 survey

THE proportion of "pluralist" voters - those who desire more political diversity - dropped sharply in GE2015 as compared to the previous general election, said the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) on Wednesday.

In addition, the five issues which most influenced how Singaporeans voted in GE2015 were the cost of living, housing affordability, healthcare affordability, meeting retirement needs, and government transparency and accountability.

These findings were gleaned from surveys done by IPS researchers around the GE2015 period. IPS held its "Post-GE Conference" on Wednesday to share its analysis of the performance of the political parties, voter behaviour, and the influence and role of media in shaping the outcome of GE2015.

One of the conclusions made by IPS is that the use of the Internet and social media have not eroded the role of television and print newspapers in shaping voter attitudes.

This is because in shaping voting decisions, TV was seen as the most important communication channel, with newspapers and the Internet coming next, and on a par with each other.