GE2025: PM Wong leads PAP to improved vote share of 65.57%; WP retains strongholds, makes no new gains
The PAP claims 87 out of 97 seats – four more than the previous term
[SINGAPORE] The People’s Action Party (PAP) has been returned to power with 65.57 per cent of votes, with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong seeing an improved vote share in his first general election (GE) at the helm.
The ruling party claimed 87 out of 97 seats – four more than the previous term – as the opposition Workers’ Party (WP) retained all its existing seats but made no new gains.
At a post-results press conference in the early hours of Sunday, PM Wong said the results will put Singapore “in a better position to face this turbulent world”.
The international media, investors and foreign governments are watching the election closely, and will see the results as “a clear signal of trust, stability and confidence” in the PAP government, he said.
In a Facebook post just before 5 am on Sunday, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was “very happy and relieved with the results”.
“This election took place at a crucial time – in the world, and in Singapore,” he said. “It was vital that PM Lawrence Wong won a good mandate in this election, to show Singaporeans, and show the world, that he has the full support of a united nation. This election result achieves that.”
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Seats and swing
Of the 2,627,026 registered electors, 92.47 per cent voted in Singapore – making this a record-low turnout.
The WP will continue to have 10 seats in the new Parliament: from its strongholds Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC, as well as Sengkang GRC, which it will hold for a second term.
With only 10 elected opposition MPs, this means that two spots for Non-Constituency Members of Parliament remain.
Offered to the “best losers” of each GE, these may go to WP’s Andre Low, who took 48.53 per cent in Jalan Kayu SMC; and one member on WP’s slate in Tampines GRC, which earned 47.37 per cent of the vote.
The election saw a 4.33-percentage-point swing towards the PAP from GE2020, marking a decisive victory in what has been seen as a referendum on PM Wong’s performance since he took the top job a year ago.
Previous prime ministers – Goh Chok Tong and Lee Hsien Loong – saw lower vote shares in their first electoral outings, compared with preceding GEs. PM Wong bucks the trend with this positive swing.
On Sunday morning, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said he was writing to PM Wong to congratulate him on the strong mandate and formally invite him to form the next government.
On the election, he said: “We have seen neither a loss of trust in politics nor the sharp polarisation of views that engulfs many other countries. Long may this remain the case.“
He added: “I hope the next Parliament will see ruling and opposition party MPs debating policies thoughtfully and respectfully, and finding common cause in building the most promising future for Singaporeans.”
Stability vs diversity
Over the course of the nine-day hustings, PAP leaders campaigned on the need for a strong and stable government to steer Singapore through global economic uncertainty and escalating trade tensions, in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s onslaught of tariffs.
In particular, PAP heavyweights came out en masse to stress the importance of Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong – moved from Chua Chu Kang GRC at the eleventh hour to anchor the PAP team in Punggol GRC – to the nation.
PM Wong and his colleagues had appealed to voters to consider DPM Gan’s contributions as Singapore’s “task force man”, having co-chaired the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force, and now the tariff inter-ministerial committee.
DPM Gan led his team to victory with 55.17 per cent against a WP team comprising newcomers that included “star catch” senior counsel Harpreet Singh.
The opposition, meanwhile, highlighted the need for a plurality of voices to serve as checks and balances against the government, even as they stressed that they had no desire – or capacity – to form the next government.
New highs
Notably, Tanjong Pagar GRC saw the highest-ever vote share for the PAP in a group representation constituency since these were created in 1988, at 81.03 per cent.
This was one of three constituencies in which the PAP secured over 80 per cent of the vote – a feat not seen since 2001, when then PAP candidate Tan Cheng Bock took 87.96 per cent of the vote in Ayer Rajah SMC.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua was the PAP’s best-performing candidate with 81.12 per cent of the vote in Queenstown SMC, against People’s Alliance for Reform candidate Mahaboob Batcha.
Coming in second was Xie Yao Quan, who took 80.51 per cent in Jurong Central SMC, defeating Red Dot United candidate Kala Manickam.
PM Wong, who led a team in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC against the Singapore Democratic Party, scored above the national average at 73.46 per cent – an improvement of 10.28 percentage points from GE2020.
Mixed performance
The PAP’s vote share increased in most of the wards it won, while the WP increased its margins in some but saw its overall vote share in contested seats fall marginally to 50.04 per cent, from 50.49 per cent in GE2020.
Its greatest improvement was in Sengkang GRC, where it took 56.31 per cent in its second victory there, up 4.19 percentage points from GE2020.
Jalan Kayu SMC saw a particularly close fight, with labour chief and former minister Ng Chee Meng getting just 806 more votes than his WP opponent. This marks a political comeback for Ng, who served one term in government before losing to the WP in Sengkang GRC in the previous election.
In Sembawang West SMC, Singapore Democratic Party secretary-general Chee Soon Juan scored his best-ever performance at 46.81 per cent of the vote.
But ultimately, as the third-best loser, he could not fulfil his lifelong dream – spanning over three decades – of entering Parliament, whether as an elected MP or an NCMP.
The Progress Singapore Party (PSP), which had two NCMPs in Parliament as the “best loser” in GE2020, had a disappointing run this election, with its A-team in West Coast-Jurong West GRC securing just 39.99 per cent of the votes.
In a statement, PSP chief and NCMP Leong Mun Wai said the party is “shocked” by the results and will reconsider how it can “gain further trust from Singaporeans”.
The party’s overall vote share, across the 13 seats it contested, was 36.25 per cent.
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