Young, first-time voters stayed with us, says PM

By Warren Fernandez
May 7, 2006
The Straits Times

YOUNG, first-time voters stayed with the People's Action Party (PAP) in the elections, contributing to its 66.6 per cent share of the vote, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his traditional post-election press conference at 2am this morning.

He said he was pleased that Singaporeans had strongly supported his team and their plans. 'We have a lot to do and we are starting now,' said the 54 year-old Mr Lee, who was flanked by Cabinet members at the Treasury building auditorium.

Pointing to the 66.1 per cent that his team won in his Ang Mo Kio GRC, which was contested for the first time since 1991, he said he was 'happy with my result', noting that the support for his team was uniformly spread between older and newer parts of the GRC.

'Anchorvale and Fernvale, many young voters recently moved into a new estate, first-time voters for many of them. And they gave my team even stronger support than some of the older areas in the GRC,' he said, noting that a similar pattern was seen in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, helmed by Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.

'It shows that our programmes and our team have struck a chord with younger voters. They know what is at stake and have voted very sensibly,' he said, sounding upbeat.

Younger voters born after independence made up 40 per cent of the electorate in this polls, and all parties had sought to win them over, not least the Workers' Party (WP), which fielded a young team against the PM in his own ward.

Last night, Mr Lee graciously thanked the WP for doing so, as it had given voters there a chance to vote. More so than individual candidates, voters had backed parties which had a better image and profile, with the WP faring the best, Mr Lee noted.

Voters appreciated that the WP had fielded better candidates than in 2001 and better than the other opposition parties this time round, he said, noting that the votes showed that Singaporeans wanted 'higher quality and credible opposition candidates'.

While he was disappointed that the PAP had failed to win back Potong Pasir and Hougang, he respected the voters' decision, which showed that incumbent MPs Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong were 'credible people, with standing on the ground'.

With the electoral contest over, he called on Singaporeans to 'come together again as one people'. He pledged to continue to encourage open and serious debate on national issues, tapping and engaging the talents of Singaporeans to take the country forward.

'Whichever party you voted for, let's close ranks, and in the words of the manifesto, stay together and move ahead,' he said.