Singapore election: PAP fields record female candidates in diversity push

Singapore’s ruling party recruited a younger, more female slate of candidates ahead of the May 3 election in a bid to connect with a changing electorate, but across the political spectrum, efforts to showcase diversity only go so far.

Of the 32 new candidates running next week for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), 13 are women – the highest proportion of new female candidates since independence in 1965. Including existing lawmakers, the PAP is fielding 32 women, also a record.

In addition, half of the ruling party’s new faces are under 40 years old. They will help replace 20 lawmakers who are stepping down, including several who had decades in politics. The newer PAP candidates are part of what Singapore’s ruling party refers to as the “5G”, or the fifth-generation of leaders since independence.

“They will inject fresh energy, new ideas and diverse perspectives to strengthen our team for Singapore,” said 52-year-old Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who succeeded Lee Hsien Loong in May last year and represents the country’s fourth-generation of leaders.

Women currently make up just under 30 per cent of Singapore’s parliament, ranking it 73rd in the world, according to data collected by Inter-Parliamentary Union Parline. That puts the country of about 6 million people just ahead of the US and behind Vietnam.

Opposition groups said the ruling party’s dominance – even the PAP’s opponents concede the party will retain its hold on power – makes it tougher for them to recruit across the spectrum of Singapore’s multiethnic, multilingual society. Just six of the Workers’ Party 26 candidates are female.

Hazel Poa, vice-chair of the opposition Progress Singapore Party, told The Straits Times that some younger potential candidates worried that in a country where the PAP has dominated for six decades, running against the ruling party might hurt their career prospects.

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