Singapore By-Election Loss Shows Lee Challenges: Southeast Asia
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Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party lost a by-election with the widest margin in almost three decades, signaling Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong may struggle to claw back support as the cost of living climbs.
The Workers’ Party’s Lee Li Lian, a 34-year-old sales trainer, won 54.5 percent of votes in the four-way race in the northeastern Punggol East district over the weekend, a 10.8 percentage point lead over the ruling party’s candidate. That’s the most for a district held by the PAP since the 1984 general elections, according to data from the Elections Department.