Sunday, May 07, 2006 Political observers say the PAP's 66.6% mandate is comfortable ground for the ruling party and the Prime Minister.
More than 1.22 million voters went to the polls, with two out of three giving Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong the mandate he sought.
Political watchers on Channel NewsAsia's "Singapore Votes" programme said that it is still early to say what impact the post-65 generation of voters had on the results.
They made up some 40% of the electorate this time.
Singapore Management University's Assistant Professor Eugene Tan said: "I think the effect of the post-65 generation has been over-rated. It's something all the parties need to be mindful of in the next general election.
"We would have more voters born post-independence and there are concerns you need to address but for any party to have success, they need to embrace the broad middle ground. At the same time we have an ageing population."
Observers say the opposition parties also had a better showing this time, save for the Singapore Democratic Party which brought down the average.
The best performer was the Workers' Party, followed by the Singapore Democratic Alliance.
Dr Gillian Koh, Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said: "The Workers' Party has revitalised itself and managed to offer a large slate of 20 candidates. So did the SDA.
"With quite a diverse group of young and not so young, this bodes well for our political system that we get an opposition party that's growing slowly and taking up the challenge.
"One thing is clear - that they decided from last time round that they would work the ground early so we won't have 'fly-by-night' opposition members, candidates running for the election."
Now all eyes are on whether the Workers' Party will be offered the Non-Constituency MP seat for the next Parliament. - CNA/ir
