Politics of Singapore
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Political background
Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People's Action Party (PAP) since the 1959 general election when Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister (Singapore was then a self-governing state within the British Empire). The PAP has been the only ruling party to form the government since then. Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and gained independence in 1965 after being expelled.[3]
Singapore has consistently been rated as the
Political climate
Domination of the ruling party
The
One commonly cited reason for a lack of opposition in Singapore is the use of defamation lawsuits by the PAP to bankrupt political opponents and disqualify them from running for office when accusations were made against the ruling party.
Another reason given is the pursuit of legal action against journalists and bloggers critical of the PAP and its policies.[8][16] Reporters Without Borders cites such lawsuits, along with attempts at making critical journalists unemployable, among its concerns when ranking the country 151st in the world for press freedom in 2017.[17]
The PAP has in the past threatened voters by saying that constituencies voting for opposition MPs would be put at the bottom of the list for public housing programs.[18][19][20] In 1998, then PAP secretary-general, Goh Chok Tong said, "By linking the priority of upgrading to electoral support, we focus the minds of voters on the link between upgrading and the people whose policies make it possible. This has the desired result.".[21] As recently as 2011 Lee Hsien Loong expressed that there has to be a distinction between opposition wards and the ones that voted for the PAP in terms of housing upgrades.[22]
The boundaries of electoral constituencies in Singapore are decided by the
In July 2020, the ruling party, The People’s Action Party (PAP), won 83 out of 93 seats and 61.2% of the popular vote in the general election, meaning PAP won its 13th consecutive general election since Singapore’s independence. However, the result was a significant decline from the 2015 election.[26]
Human rights condition
Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and
Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning and there are laws which allow capital punishment in Singapore for murder and drug trafficking.
Executive
In order to become president, the candidate:
- Must not be a member of any political party on the date of their nomination for election.[28]
- Must have for a period of not less than three years held office —
- as Permanent Secretary;[29]
- as GIC Private Limited (formerly known as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation);[30]
- as CEO of a company with an average of $500 million in shareholders' equity for the most recent three years in that office, and which is profitable after taxes;[31] or
- in any other similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organisation or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector which has given him or her such experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to enable him or her to carry out effectively the functions and duties of the office of President.[32]
- as
The president now exercises powers over the following:[33]
- appointment of public officers
- government budgets
- examine government's exercise of its powers under the Internal Security Act
- examine government's exercise of its powers under religious harmony laws
- investigate cases of corruption
However, the president must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers before taking a decision on some of these matters. The council consists of
- two members appointed at the personal discretion of the president
- two members appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
- one member appointed by the president on the advice of the chief justice
- one member appointed by the president on the advice of the chairman of the Public Service Commission
A member of the council serves a six-year term and is eligible for re-appointment for further terms of four years each.[34]
Similar to the
Cabinet
The cabinet forms the executive of the government and it is answerable to parliament. It consist of sitting members of parliament and is headed by a prime minister, the head of government. The current prime minister is Lee Hsien Loong.
Neither the prime minister nor members of the cabinet are elected by parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president, then Cabinet members, also known as ministers, are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.[35]
The cabinet in Singapore collectively decides the government's policies and has influence over lawmaking by introducing bills.
Ministers in Singapore are the highest paid politicians in the world, receiving a 60% salary raise in 2007 and as a result Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's pay jumped to S$3.1 million, five times the US$400,000 earned by
Legislative
Parliament
The
The 93 elected members of parliament (MPs) are elected on a
Formerly, there were no GRCs, and all constituencies of Singapore were represented by one member, but amendments to the
This development has led to complaints from opposition parties that they are often unable to field one, let alone three or more candidates. Out of the 93 members of parliament, 26 are female.[41] In the 2001 and 2006 general election, the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP) won the same configuration of 82 out of the 84 seats.[42] The final results of the 2020 general election saw a 8.62% swing against the PAP from the 2015 elections of 69.86%.[43]
The constitution also provides for the appointment of other members of parliament not voted in at an election. Up to six
A constitutional provision for the appointment of up to nine
In 2018, nine NMPs were sworn in, out of which five were female.
Both non-constituency and nominated members of parliament cannot vote on the following issues:
- amendment of the constitution
- public funds
- vote of no confidencein the government
- removing the president from office
Legislative process
Before any law is passed, it is first introduced in parliament as a draft known as a bill. Bills are usually introduced by a minister on behalf of the cabinet, known as government bills. However, any member of parliament can introduce a bill, known as a private member's bill. All bills must go through three readings in parliament and receive the president's assent to become an
Each bill goes through several stages before it becomes a law. The first stage is a mere formality known as the
If the bill goes through the second reading, the bill is sent to a select committee where every clause in the bill is examined. Members of parliament who support the bill in principle but do not agree with certain clauses can propose amendments to those clauses at this stage. Following its report back to parliament, the bill will go through its
Most bills passed by parliament are scrutinised by the Presidential Council for Minority Rights which makes a report to the speaker of Parliament stating whether there are clauses in a bill which affects any racial or religious community.[44] If approved by the council, the bill will be presented for the president's assent.
The last stage involves the granting of assent by the president, before the bill officially becomes a law.
Constitution
The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of
The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament on the second and third readings.[45] The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues from a tribunal consisting of not less than three judges of the Supreme Court. Singaporean courts, like the courts in Australia, cannot offer advisory opinion on the constitutionality of laws.[46]
Part IV of the constitution guarantees the following:[47]
- liberty of a person
- prohibition of slavery and forced labour
- protection against retrospective criminal laws and repeated trials
- equal protection
- prohibition of banishment and freedom of movement
- freedom of speech, assembly and association
- freedom of religion
- right to education
The sections on liberty of the person and freedoms of speech, assembly, movement, association and religion are all qualified by allowing Parliament to restrict those freedoms for reasons including national security, public health, and "public order or morality". In practice, the courts have given complete discretion to the government in imposing such restrictions.
Part XII of the constitution allows the
Judiciary
Elections and political parties
Voting has been compulsory in Singapore since 1959[48] and there is universal suffrage. The legal voting age is 21. The Elections Department of Singapore is responsible for the planning, preparation and conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections and of any national referendum in Singapore. It is a department under the Prime Minister's Office.
Paper ballots are still used in Singapore. However, there is a concern that voting secrecy might be compromised[49] as ballot papers have serial numbers on them. As stated in the Elections Department website:[50]
- ballot papers can be examined only under strict conditions, and there are safeguards that make it extremely difficult to find out how any particular voter voted. After the count, all ballot papers and their counterfoils have to be sealed in the Supreme Court vault for six months, after which all the ballot papers and other election documents are destroyed. During those six months, these documents can only be retrieved by court order. The court will issue such an order only if it is satisfied that a vote has been fraudulently cast and the result of the election may be affected as a result. Our courts have issued no such order since elections have been held here since 1948.
People's Action Party
The PAP has been the dominant political party in Singapore, re-elected continuously since 1959. It is headed by Lee Hsien Loong, who succeeded Goh Chok Tong. Goh's predecessor Lee Kuan Yew served as Singapore's prime minister from independence through 1990. Since stepping down as prime minister, Lee remained influential as Senior Minister and Minister Mentor.
PAP has held the overwhelming majority of seats in parliament since 1966 when the opposition
The dominance of the PAP, often to the extent that there is no effective opposition, has led to Singapore being described as a one-party state. [51][52]
Opposition parties
There are two opposition parties in the
There are other major opposition parties such as the
As of July 2020, the
Women's participation in politics
Women traditionally played a significantly smaller role than their male counterparts in Singapore. Nonetheless, in recent years, there is an increasing level of female participation in the Singapore political arena.
On 11 July 2020, He Ting Ru and Raeesah Begum Farid Khan became the third and fourth woman from an opposition party to win a seat in parliament by 4,922 votes over the ruling party's candidates in the 2020 general election for Sengkang Group Representation Constituency(GRC). The team was led by He Ting Ru and was first timer Raeesah Khan who proceeded to become the youngest MP in Singapore's Parliamentary history.
Lee Li Lian was the second woman from an opposition party to win a seat in Parliament with 54.50% of the votes but lost in the following 2015 general election by a slim margin. Sylvia Lim Swee Lian, currently the Chairperson of the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and Member of Parliament (MP) representing Aljunied GRC whose team won 54.71% of the votes (54.72% including overseas votes), was the first time that an opposition party won a GRC since the system's introduction on 1 June 1988.
In September 2017, Halimah Yacob was inaugurated as Singapore's first female President, the only candidate certified as eligible in the election.
Shirt colours
The candidates and supporters of the various political parties tend to wear the following shirt colours while making their rounds in various wards or campaigning.
Party | Shirt Colour |
---|---|
People's Action Party | White |
Workers' Party |
Light Blue |
Progress Singapore Party | Red and White |
Singapore People's Party | |
Singapore Democratic Party | Red |
National Solidarity Party | Orange |
Reform Party | Yellow |
Singapore Democratic Alliance | Bright Green |
Democratic Progressive Party | White and Orange |
People's Power Party | Light Purple |
Peoples Voice | Purple and Black |
Red Dot United | Navy Blue |
See also
- Dominant party system
- Laws of Singapore
- Corruption in Singapore
- Lists of members of parliament in Singapore
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