Following the dissolution of the parliament by the President of Singapore, the election process has commenced. It has been announced that the general election will be held on May 3.

In the island city-state of Singapore located in South Asia, a new election date has been set after State President Tharman Shanmugaratnam dissolved the parliament.

The Singapore Election Commission decided that the election will take place on May 3. April 23 was announced as the deadline for determining the candidate lists. Following this date, a nine-day election campaign will take place, and after a one-day “cooling off” period, voters will head to the polls. PAP, WILL THEY WIN AGAIN? According to information shared by CNBC, this will be the 14th general election held in Singapore since declaring independence. The election on May 3 will mark the first election for Lawrence Wong as prime minister. Wong took over as prime minister from Lee Hsien Loong, who had been leading the Singapore government since 2004.

According to reports in the local press, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is expected to face a fierce competition for each seat in the parliament of 97 seats in the upcoming election. It is noted that the high cost of living and unemployment are the key issues for Singaporean voters. PAP has been governing Singapore since its independence in 1965. In the last general election held in 2020, the party garnered 61.24% of the votes, allowing 83 PAP members of parliament to enter the legislature.

ELECTION DURING GLOBAL TURMOIL Additionally, the election will take place in a period of global and economic turmoil triggered by the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on many countries, especially China. In a statement made on April 8, Wong expressed that they were “greatly disappointed” by the U.S.’s tariff decision, pointing out that it was particularly disappointing considering the deep and long-standing friendship between the two countries.