SINGAPORE (CNA) – The People’s Action Party (PAP) cannot assume that it will win the next General Election and form the next government, but it will “work doubly hard” to regain seats that it has lost, said Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday.
Speaking at the party’s conference that is held once every two years, he said: “Every election from now on will be about which party forms the government.
“While we put up good candidates and fight to win every seat, we have to be prepared that we will not win all of them and nor can we assume that we will form the next government.”
“But I assure you we will work doubly hard, triply hard, to regain the seats we have lost and we will work day in and day out to secure a strong mandate to govern,” he told more than 3,000 party members gathered at the conference.
Singapore’s next general election must be held by 2025.
“Whether it happens before or in 2025, we already know that it will be a tough battle. So the real questions to ask are not when the succession or when the election will take place.
“But how we can prepare ourselves to put up the strongest fight, how we can win the confidence and trust of Singaporeans, how we can secure a clear mandate. And to do that, we must do well in both government and politics.”
Mr Wong said that as a political party, the PAP has to be “clear-eyed” and confront its political challenges and political challenges head-on.
The PAP has governed Singapore since the country attained self-government in 1959, he added, noting that “many have become accustomed” to the PAP forming the Government.
“They assume that the PAP will automatically continue to govern Singapore no matter who they vote for. There is no such guarantee,” he said.
