Singapore PM Lee hints at early election next year

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Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested on Sunday a general election may be called next year, more than a year before his government's mandate ends, as the city-state braces for growing economic uncertainty amid global trade tensions.

Lee's People's Action Party (PAP) has dominated Singapore's politics over the five decades since the republic's independence, winning all the elections with significant majorities, and faces no real challenge to its power.

"This may be the last party conference before the next general election," Lee told the PAP convention.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, waves at a meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

"The new CEC (Central Executive Committee) will be leading the party into the final stretch, gearing up to put our record before the voters," Lee said.

The annual convention elected a new Central Executive Committee on Sunday bringing into its top ranks young cabinet ministers.

"The PAP must win the next general election convincingly," Lee told the convention. "We take a pragmatic and centrist approach in our politics and in our policies. And we're setting a clear direction supported by the broad mass of Singaporeans who want to see stability and progress continue for many years."

(Cover: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrives for a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, October 19, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters