SINGAPORE: Political analysts told CNA that Singapore can anticipate holding its next General Election( GE ) in 2024 after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Sunday( Nov. 5 ) his timeline for the nbsp, handing over leadership to Deputy Premier Lawrence Wong.
Although Mr. Lee’s transition plans did not surprise the analysts, they claimed that the election date has been pushed back because of his desire to transfer the reins of power to M. Wong before the next GE & nbsp and by Nov. 21 of next year, which is the 70th anniversary of the ruling Peoples Action Party( PAP ).
If everything goes according to plan, Mr. Lee said, adding that there was no longer any justification for delaying the shift.
By November 2025, Singapore’s new GE must been announced.
Before turning 70 in February 2022, Mr. Lee had originally stated his intention to step down. This strategy was derailed by the crisis.
I will be at the new PM’s waste after( handing over). I may go wherever he believes I can be of assistance. On Sunday, Mr. Lee declared,” I’ll try my best to support him in his battle and win the second GE.” At the annual PAP awards and agreement, he was speaking to more than a thousand party members.
Given that Mr. Lee had been referring to handing over leadership to the next generation for a number of years, Dr. Felix Tan of Nanyang Technological University( NTU) observed that Sunday’s announcement was” overdue.”
” By saying that he would love to hand over before next November- it’s kind of an implicit way of telling Singaporeans, as well as the 4G ( fourth generation ) leaders, that probably there will be an election much earlier or at least in 2024 ,” Dr. Tan said. & nbsp,
” An vote should be scheduled by the following month. When? I wouldn’t want to calculate that just yet.
Given the lack of quality prior to Mr. Lee’s declaration on Sunday, Ms. Nydia Ngiow, managing director of public policy consultancy BowerGroup Asia, also cited earlier” common speculation” regarding the timing of the management transition.
She claimed that if PM Lee had decided to remain until the next GE is called, Mr. Wong and another 4G officials might not have been trusted.
Giving up the league before the GE should be seen as the prime minister’s confidence in the 4G leaders, particularly since there doesn’t seem to be much of a chance for them to prove their mettle going forward, Ms. Ngiow continued.
However, it could be argued that if he had been truly confident in the 4G, the national security portfolio — including defense, home affairs, and foreign affairs — could have been given to them earlier rather than having it continued to be managed by 3G ministers.