Pushback against growing Opposition movement a factor in PAP vote swing: Sylvia Lim
WP's Sylvia Lim speaks to the media on the sidelines of a thank you parade in Aljunied GRC this afternoon, less than 12 hours after the final result of the General Election was announced. Photo: Daryl Kang
SINGAPORE — A pushback from voters sensing a growing Opposition movement and less public dissatisfaction towards the ruling party could have resulted in the surprising electoral outcome yesterday, Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim said today (Sept 12).
“One of the things which probably did loom in the people’s minds is the fact that for the first time all 89 seats are contested, perhaps some people did feel that there was some risk that whether sooner or later the PAP might be dislodged as a government, perhaps the people has reacted to that too,” said Ms Lim, who was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a thank you parade in Aljunied GRC this afternoon, less than 12 hours after the final result of the General Election was announced.
She added: “I think the majority of Singaporeans probably still want the People’s Action Party (PAP) as the government. So it is possible that the fact that all seats were contested resulted in some pushback.” On other possible factors that saw a nationwide swing of votes toward the PAP, she said: “Probably, people were less upset with the PAP this time compared to 2011 because of the changes it has. Some people say it is because of the feel-good factor (brought about by) SG50, or the memory of the late Lee Kuan Yew... it could be a combination of all these.”
The uncertain external economic environment might also have played a part as voters sought a flight to safety. Some voters were concerned about the economic situation, Ms Lim noted.
The WP suffered a setback in the polls - losing Punggol East Single-Member Constituency (SMC), and seeing its margin of victory eroded in both Aljunied GRC and its stronghold of Hougang SMC.
The outcome of the contest in Aljunied was the last to be announced, following a recount. The WP won by a razor-thin margin of 1.9 percentage points, or 2,612 votes. In the immediate aftermath, several Opposition leaders were at loss for words on how the PAP turned around its performance in the 2011 GE. In this election, the PAP increased its popular vote share to 69.9 per cent - the highest since 2011 - from a low of 60.1 per cent in 2011.
Ms Lim said: “I’m not sure whether the voters are also trying to send a message that maybe they don’t want too many Opposition (members in Parliament)... Perhaps they don’t really want the WP to grow more than what we are now? There are many interpretations.”
Ms Lim did not hide her disappointment with the results, especially at losing Punggol East SMC which her party had gained just 2.5 years ago in a by-election.
“Everyone is surprised at the extent of the national swing (of about 10 percentage points) towards the PAP, for ourselves the swing was less, so in that sense we are happy...but of course we have some disappointments... particularly our loss in Punggol East,” said Ms Lim.
Adding that the WP would be doing a “detailed assessment” of voting patterns, Ms Lim nevertheless reiterated that she did not think that the financial management lapses at the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council had an impact on the WP’s showing, contrary to what some analysts are saying. “The numbers don’t suggest that... the national swing was about 10 percentage points towards the ruling party but in our wards - Hougang, Aljunied GRC and Punggol East - it’s about 5 percentage points or less. So if the town council issue were to affect us, we would see a bigger swing against us.”
During the hustings, the WP rallies had drawn huge crowds. But Ms Lim said: “We are quite used to our rallies being well-attended, and also quite used to them not translating into votes.”
Still, she felt that the electoral outcome was a “useful reminder to everybody that things may not always be what they seem”. “I think rallies tend to attract your own support base and perhaps some swing voters. But many of the swing voters probably will be making their decisions at home. They could watch the videos (of the rallies) themselves and not be there. So we always have to take rally turnouts with a pinch of salt.”
With the conclusion of the elections, it is back to work for the WP Members of Parliament re-elected in Aljunied GRC and Hougang. The party said the MPs were resume their Meet-the-People sessions the coming week.
Having gone round the Serangoon and Paya Lebar divisions today to thank the residents, the WP Aljunied GRC MPs will continue their thank you parade tomorrow in other areas including the Kaki Bukit and Bedok Reservoir divisions.
