Singapore's ever-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) once again won an overpowering majority in parliamentary elections on Saturday. But the opposition in the tightly controlled city-state gained historic victories in a ballot the prime minister called a watershed event.
The PAP won 60.1 percent of the votes, down from 66.6 percent in 2006, and got 81 of 87 parliamentary seats, compared to 82 of 84 seats in the last election, the Elections Department said early Sunday morning.
However, in a ballot that was greatly affected by a high number of young voters and the use of social internet media for campaigning, the opposition won a record six seats, surpassing its previous best performance of four seats in 1991.
For the first time the opposition won a multi-member constituency, a type of electoral district unique to Singapore and usually seen as a PAP stronghold. A slate of candidates of the Workers' Party defeated a PAP team led by Foreign Minister George Yeo to gain five seats.
For the opposition, the win marked "a real breakthrough for future generations," said Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang, who headed the team.
With the PAP's first loss of a group-representative constituency, "a new chapter has been opened in Singapore's history," said the defeated Yeo.
"We understand in the PAP that this election is a watershed election," said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in a sobering analysis after all final results were out.
There were more younger, well-educated voters with different experiences than earlier generations, while the number of older people concerned about rising costs of living was also growing, he said.
"Many of them desire to see more opposition voices in parliament to check the PAP government," he told a press conference.
Social media like Facebook and Twitter, which the small opposition parties used to address the 2.2 million eligible voters, also had "an impact in this election, quite bigger than in previous elections," the prime minister said.
Since 1959, the PAP has ruled Singapore with a firm hand. In earlier polls, the party won even before the ballot opened because the opposition did not contest most of the seats.
But this time six opposition parties fielded 82 candidates, the highest number in decades, to contest 87 seats. Only the prime minister's father, state founder Lee Kuan Yew, and four other PAP candidates returned unopposed in their district.
Except for the Workers' Party, which also defended a one-seat constituency to win a total of six seats, all other opposition parties failed to capture any parliamentary seats.
However, in some districts they lost with a smaller margin than in previous elections.
As voters were increasingly concerned about rising inflation, housing affordability and other bread-and-butter issues, PAP leaders found discontent with the government and its policies, prompting the younger Lee to admit mistakes and offer apologies during the campaign.
"This election marks a distinct shift in our political landscape which all of us must adjust to," he said after the ballot.
The election had heightened the political consciousness and awareness in Singapore, he said, pledging the PAP would listen to all voices, whether expressed personally or on the internet.
Especially younger Singaporeans with little traction for the PAP's success story of bringing the tiny island state from third world to first world, used internet forums to voice dissent and find positions different from those carried by the government-friendly mainstream media.
In addition, younger generations were increasingly unwilling to accept the PAP's political dominance as a given fact, said observers.
"The voters have spoken. The signs were indicated even before polling day," said Eugene Tan, assistant law professor at the Singapore Management University.