A Political Utopia called Singapore: Will the PAP stay in power another 50 years?

Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has been continuously governed by the People’s Action Party (PAP) as it won every General Election. In the 2011 General Election, the PAP won 60.1% of the valid votes the lowest in its entire election history fueling discussion of political change in the city-state.  But in the 2015 General Election, the PAP dramatically improved their mandate to govern by winning 69.9% of the valid votes surprising even some of its own party candidates. Is the PAP’s landslide victory at the recent polls irrefutable proof that Singaporeans still want the PAP to stay in power indefinitely? Has the PAP won elections fair and square?  Jeannette, an opposition politician who contested against the PAP candidate in both the 2011 and 2015 General Election, offers her perspective of politics in Singapore.

Speaker

Jeannette Aruldoss is a lawyer and opposition politician from Singapore.  She entered politics in 2009 when she joined an opposition political party.  She subsequently ran at the 2011 General Election as a candidate of the National Solidarity Party (NSP) against the incumbent PAP Member of Parliament at the Single Member Constituency seat of Mountbatten (Mountbatten SMC).

Jeannette served as NSP’s Vice-President from July 2011 to October 2013 and as NSP’s Secretary General from October 2013 to January 2015.  At the 2015 General Election, Jeannette returned to contest the seat at Mountbatten SMC, this time as a candidate of the Singapore People’s Party.

Jeannette, 52 is a full-time practising lawyer of 27 years’ standing.  She is happily married to a non-lawyer and has four children aged 18 to 26.  She shares her socio-political views at her blog at http://jeannettechongaruldoss.blogspot.sg/