Singapore to Hold Early General Election on 10th Next Month... Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Says "COVID-19 Situation Stabilized"

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore (Photo by Bloomberg News).

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Singapore will hold an early general election on the 10th of next month despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to major foreign media, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in a nationally televised address that with the COVID-19 situation entering a stabilization phase, he has decided to hold a general election to establish new leadership.

Regarding this, Prime Minister Lee requested President Halimah Yacob to dissolve the parliament, and the Prime Minister's Office explained in a statement that President Halimah dissolved the parliament on the same day. The candidate registration date is expected to be the 30th of this month.

The next general election was originally required by local law to be held by April next year, so there was ample time.

However, Prime Minister Lee hinted at the possibility of an early election at the People's Action Party (PAP) congress in January 2018. Singapore's political circles anticipated an early election earlier this year, but it was delayed due to the spread of COVID-19.

Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has been continuously governed by the current ruling party, the PAP, and the prime minister is elected by the PAP leadership.

In the early general election held in 2015, the PAP won a landslide victory, securing 83 out of 89 seats and gaining 69.86% of the vote. The main opposition party, the Workers' Party, won only 6 seats.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (59) is mentioned as the successor to Prime Minister Lee.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.