Singapore elections

"Singapore has a more sophisticated electorate, that isn’t afraid to send a signal to the PAP about its displeasure over the government’s performance even when economic worries weigh heavily on their mind,” says market watcher Leonard Lim.

Now that elections are over, the government will refocus efforts on job creation amid the Covid-19 recession.

Contrary to fears of a shaken investor confidence following opposition gains, market analysts expect that a more diverse parliament could prevent government "groupthink".

This “signals a new normal in Singapore politics, that the previous narratives of voters responding largely to bread and butter concerns may no longer hold water,” said Leonard Lim, Singapore country director for Vriens & Partners.

As Singapore’s leaders now grapple with what’s turning out to be its worst slump since independence in 1965, the ruling party is looking to extend its mandate in Friday’s election to help reinvent the economy once again.

A new mandate to govern Singapore during the pandemic can bode well for the nascent rebound in the nation’s US$383 billion ($533.83 billion) stock market.

Fears of a second Covid-19 wave are also exerting downward market pressure.

Singaporeans go to the polls next month ahead of the third change in prime minister in some six decades.

Singapore’s government is facing calls from opposition parties and a group of regional lawmakers to hold off on its yet-to-be-announced general elections, citing the health risk to voters amid the coronavirus pandemic and restrictive campaign rules.

It’s going to be a very different election season for Singapore this time around.