This little island goes to the polls

Singaporeans go to the polls Saturday with the ruling People’s Action Party widely expected to win another crushing victory despite the strongest opposition challenge in almost two decades.

PAP candidates and supporters

The healthy economy is expected to work in favor of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s party, which is credited with turning multiracial Singapore into a wealthy and stable society and has never lost an election since 1959.

But critics say a growing income divide, the plight of the elderly and less-skilled workers and a desire by younger voters for a less authoritarian system could help the opposition spring a few surprises.

The Workers' Party's Low Thia Kiang hopes to keep Hougang district

The PAP held all but two of the 84 seats in the last parliament. The opposition is contesting 47 seats, more than in any election since 1988, but is the first to admit it cannot win a majority.

About 40 percent of today's eligible voters were born after Singapore became an independent nation in 1965. Whether their elders like it or not, they are their country's future, and their vision now stands side by side with Mr. Lee's.

"What we want is a choice," said Mabel Lee, 28, an editor and television presenter. "What we want is political vibrancy. What we want is a media that could reflect both the views of the opposition as well as of the ruling party fairly. What we want is to see that the opposition is being given a level playing field. What we want is fairness in the political sphere."

"You have a choice!" is The Workers' Party's motto

The Singapore elections on Saturday are being seen as a form of plebiscite for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who inherited the post in 2004. Although his ruling People's Action Party is virtually assured of a majority of seats in parliament, even a small improvement by the tiny opposition could prove an embarrassment for Mr. Lee.

It is the first time in almost 20 years that the opposition is contesting more than half of the constituencies in the tightly-controlled city-state.

"Instead of spending my time thinking of what is the right policy for Singapore," said PM Lee on Wednesday night in response to this issue, "I have to spend all my time thinking what is the right way to fix them, what's the right way to buy my own supporters over."

And for this remark, he issued an apology on Friday, after the opposition had protested over it the night before.

"Oops. Shouldn't have said that. I'm gonna need a new spindoctor."

Lee's press secretary said what the PM meant to say "was that if there were many more opposition MPs in Parliament, the government and opposition would spend all their time and energies countering each other, and Singapore would be worse off for it."