GE2025: How are hustings shaping up with a week to Polling Day?

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SINGAPORE – Where will the battle lines be drawn in the May 3 general election?

With more than half of the nine-day campaign to go, it is perhaps too early to say which issues will catch fire, and which will fall flat.

What has surfaced three days into the hustings is robust debate over rising costs, Singapore’s economic trajectory and the value of having more opposition voices in Parliament. Evergreen bread-and-butter concerns – inflation, housing and job security – have been aired in several opposition rallies so far.

There is also the threat of foreign interference made real. On April 25, the authorities took action to

block social media posts by three foreigners

– among them Malaysian politicians – who sought to sway the decisions of Singaporean voters.

All this is taking place against a backdrop of global economic and political instability, precipitated by the capricious behaviour of US President Donald Trump.

Singapore in an unpredictable world

One theme that has emerged in the last few months is that Singapore is a small, trade-reliant nation at the mercy of an unpredictable world.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has sought to draw voters’ attention to these circumstances and what is at stake.

“Global demand is weakening. Market confidence has fallen. Our exports will be hit,” he said

in a televised party political broadcast on April 25

.

“Our bigger fear is this: this is not just a short-term downturn. The world is shifting beneath our feet. Tensions are rising between the major powers. The rules of international trade and cooperation are breaking down.”

The PAP’s message to voters is that it is the best party to see Singapore through these uncertain times, and will need a strong mandate to do so effectively.

“Given that they have their years as a ruling party to back this claim, I think many voters do take that into account,” said Institute of Policy Studies Social Lab research fellow Teo Kay Key. “But concerns about the cost of living are quite prevalent on the ground, and they will really need to provide assurances for this.”

Opposition politicians have zeroed in on such issues.

In its first rally on April 24,

the PSP said rising costs, stagnant wages and underemployment are key problems to solve. It proposed solutions such as a minimum wage and tighter rules on hiring foreign professionals.

Others, such as the Singapore Democratic Party and Red Dot United, have drawn attention to the cost of healthcare and public housing in their party political broadcasts.

“These are the realities that people are facing and things that the opposition parties have picked up on to speak about,” Dr Teo said.

In response, PM Wong has highlighted the PAP’s work in recent years to

help Singaporeans with these and other concerns.

More help will be given if it is needed, he said during his party’s broadcast.

He added: “Even as we help Singaporeans cope with the immediate economic concerns, the PAP Government will always look ahead, to plan for and prepare Singaporeans for the future.”

The PAP vs the opposition?

In the first three days of the campaign, political parties have also sought to win people over to their views on this question: Does Singapore need a stronger opposition presence in Parliament?

The PAP’s view is that it is not about the number of opposition MPs in the House, but what they bring to the table.

In the party’s first rally on April 24

, PM Wong called on voters to judge all candidates by the same yardstick.

“Don’t give the opposition a free pass,” he said. “Apply the same standards to them as you do to the PAP, in terms of integrity, competence and readiness to serve.”

It was his answer to the WP’s 2020 rallying cry of “no blank cheque”, with which it sought to persuade voters to send more opposition MPs into Parliament. That year, the party won its second group representation constituency – Sengkang.

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, the WP chief, hit back a day later,

saying voters should compare its slate against the PAP’s backbenchers

, rather than its core leadership team. This is because the WP is not contesting enough seats to form the next government, he said.

“My proposition to voters to consider is to understand that backbencher-for-backbencher, you’ve got a serious choice there,” he added.

In his party’s political broadcast, Mr Singh said that opposition MPs “can ask any question, especially the difficult questions which are necessary in the public interest”. When voting in Parliament, they do not need to toe the PAP’s party line, he said.

This view was echoed by PSP chairman Tan Cheng Bock, who called on Singaporeans to vote for a “more balanced Parliament that represents the diverse views of Singaporeans”.

What Singapore needs is more MPs from the “loyal opposition”, who speak up and propose constructive alternative policies, he said.

Associate Professor Eugene Tan, a political analyst and law don at the Singapore Management University, said: “For the opposition, particularly the WP, it is that Singapore’s interests will be better served by a more balanced political system rather than a one-party dominant system.”

But in his party’s broadcast, PM Wong sought to reframe the issue. After the dust from the election campaign settles, it will not be PAP versus the opposition, but Singapore versus the world, he said.

“The outcome of the election will determine how effective your government will be in serving you, and how ready we are to forge a new path forward together in these uncertain times.”

Foreign meddling in local politics

Before the hustings began, the Elections Department (ELD)

also cautioned against foreign interference,

saying: “The outcome of Singapore’s elections must be for Singaporeans alone to decide.” It reiterated this warning on April 25, after the Government moved to block access to Facebook posts made by foreigners who were attempting to influence the election.

In a joint statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs and ELD said the posts were targeted at Singaporeans and had the potential to fracture racial and religious harmony here.

“We must not mix religion and politics. Singapore is a secular state. Our institutions serve Singaporeans equally,” they added.

PM Wong had also addressed the issue – albeit obliquely – during the PAP’s rally on the second day of the hustings.

“In the heat of an election campaign, it is easy for issues to get stirred up,” he said. “I say to all political parties in this election, let’s make sure that in everything we do, we always uphold multiracial politics. Do not inflame sensitive issues.”

How political parties and voters respond as this issue plays out over the next six days could change the course of the campaign.