If a General Election were to be held in the near term, it is not the case that Singaporeans who voted for Tharman Shanmugaratnam would also vote for the People’s Action Party, says SMU associate professor Eugene K B Tan.
last Wednesday : “If I am a partisan, it is that I am a partisan for better chances and better support for Singaporeans who have less, to help them uplift themselves and to uplift all our spirits”.Although one cannot ignore Mr Tharman’s time and contributions in government, it is another thing altogether to say that voters from across the political aisle were giving the vote of confidence to the PAP in last Friday’s poll.
The General Election is a highly partisan contest with each political party promoting their election manifestos in a contest for the right to form the government. In a one-party dominant system, General Election can also function as a referendum on the ruling party. “Singapore society is changing, Singapore politics is changing, and I think the relationship between the president and the prime minister, the new prime minister, should be a constructive one; and I believe we can make that work,” Mr Tharman said.
Put simply, voters refused to see the contest in political partisan terms since the presidency is not designed and cannot be an alternative source of political power. Instead, they focused on the candidates’ track record, what they would bring to the presidency, and how the presidency and the government can work interdependently for the good of Singapore and Singaporeans.
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