Singapore's PM happy with election result, vows to serve people better

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a press conference early Sunday morning that he is happy that his People's Action Party (PAP) won the general election by gaining 66.6 percent of the votes.

Having got this strong mandate from the people, he and his PAP team will implement the programs stated in the party's manifesto and do their best to serve Singaporeans, Lee said.

He said that the new leadership team will lead Singapore through the next 15 to 20 years and the key is to keep in touch with changing demographics and the younger generation, as well as the new globalized world order.

He called on all Singaporeans to close ranks, stay together and move ahead, saying that there are enormous talent, experience and expertise among them and that each of them can make his own contribution to the country.

On the two opposition wards, Lee said that the PAP respects voters' choices and will review its strategy for the two constituencies in the next five years.

The PAP led by Lee got 82 of the 84 parliamentary seats in the country's 10th general election held on Saturday and has been returned to power.

It lost Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Potong Pasir SMC to the Workers' Party (WP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) respectively again, as what had happened in the last general election held in November 2001.

Established in 1954, the PAP has won all the general elections and stayed in power since Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965.

Source: Xinhua