2020 Singaporean general election facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2020 Singapore general election

← 2015 10 July 2020 Next →
← 13th Parliament of Singapore members elected →
All 93 elected seats (+2 NCMPs seats) to the Parliament of Singapore 47 elected seats needed for a majority
Registered	2,651,435
Turnout	2,540,359 (95.81%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Lee Hsien Loong Pritam Singh Tan Cheng Bock Party People's Action Party Workers' Party Progress Singapore Party Leader since 3 December 2004 8 April 2018 28 March 2019 Leader's seat Ang Mo Kio GRC Aljunied GRC West Coast GRC (lost) Last election 83 (69.86%) 6 + 3 NCMPs (12.48%) New Party Seats before 82 6 + 3 NCMPs New Party Seats won 83 10 0 + 2 NCMPs Seat change 4 3 NCMPs 2 NCMPs Popular vote 1,527,491 279,922 253,996 Percentage 61.23% 11.22% 10.18% Swing 8.63% 1.26% New Party
Prime Minister before election Lee Hsien Loong PAP Prime Minister after election Lee Hsien Loong PAP

On 10 July 2020, Singapore held a very important event called a general election. This is when people vote for who they want to represent them in the Parliament of Singapore. Think of Parliament as a big meeting place where elected leaders make decisions for the country.

In Singapore, voting is a must for everyone aged 21 and older. The main goal of this election was to choose members for the 14th Parliament of Singapore. The People's Action Party (PAP) won the election. This was their 15th win in a row since 1959! Lee Hsien Loong continued to be the Prime Minister. The PAP won 83 seats. The Workers' Party won 10 seats. This was the largest number of seats won by an opposition party since 1966.

What is a General Election?

A general election is a time when citizens get to choose their leaders. These leaders then work in the country's Parliament. They help make laws and decide how the country is run. It's a way for people to have a say in their government.

How Voting Works

In Singapore, people vote using a system called "first-past-the-post". This means the candidate or party with the most votes in an area wins. It's like a race where the first one to cross the finish line wins. Everyone aged 21 and above must vote. This is called compulsory voting.

Main Political Parties

Several political parties took part in the 2020 election. The two biggest parties were the People's Action Party and the Workers' Party.

People's Action Party (PAP)

The PAP has been the ruling party in Singapore for a very long time. Their leader is Lee Hsien Loong, who is also the Prime Minister. In the 2020 election, they won the most seats. This allowed them to continue leading the government.

Workers' Party (WP)

The Workers' Party is the main opposition party. This means they are not the ruling party. Their leader is Pritam Singh. They won 10 seats in this election. This was a good result for them. It meant more voices from different parties in Parliament.

Progress Singapore Party (PSP)

The Progress Singapore Party is a newer party. It was formed in 2019. Their leader is Tan Cheng Bock. While they did not win any elected seats, they did get two special seats. These are called Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seats. These seats ensure that there are always some opposition voices in Parliament.

Election Results

The 2020 election was held during a difficult time. It happened during the global pandemic. Despite this, many people still voted. The turnout was very high, with over 95% of registered voters casting their ballots.

The PAP won 83 out of 93 elected seats. This showed that many people still supported their leadership. The Workers' Party won 10 seats. This was an increase for them. It meant they had more representatives in Parliament than before.

The election results showed that Singaporeans wanted both strong leadership and more diverse voices in Parliament. The Workers' Party's increased seats meant more debate and different ideas could be discussed.

e•d Summary of the 10 July 2020 Parliament of Singapore election results

Parties and alliances	Leader	Contested seats					Divs won	Seats won	Popular vote	% of valid votes		+/-	% of valid votes in wards contested by party		+/-
		SMC	GRC		Divs	Total
			4m	5m
People's Action Party	Lee Hsien Loong	14	6	11	31	93	28	83	1,527,491	61.23		8.63	61.23		8.63
Workers' Party	Pritam Singh	2	1	3	6	21	3	10	279,922	11.22		1.26	50.49		10.74
Progress Singapore Party	Tan Cheng Bock	5	1	3	9	24	0	0	253,996	10.18		New	40.86		New
Singapore Democratic Party	Chee Soon Juan	3	2	0	5	11	0	0	111,054	4.45		0.69	37.04		5.81
National Solidarity Party	Spencer Ng	0	0	2	2	10	0	0	93,653	3.75		0.22	33.15		7.88
Peoples Voice	Lim Tean	1	1	1	3	10	0	0	59,183	2.37		New	21.27		New
Reform Party	Kenneth Jeyaretnam	1	0	1	2	6	0	0	54,599	2.19		0.44	27.85		7.25
Singapore People's Party	Steve Chia	1	1	0	2	5	0	0	37,998	1.52		0.65	33.85		6.77
Singapore Democratic Alliance	Desmond Lim	0	0	1	1	5	0	0	37,237	1.49		0.57	23.67		3.44
Red Dot United	Ravi Philemon	0	0	1	1	5	0	0	31,260	1.25		New	25.39		New
People's Power Party	Goh Meng Seng	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	7,489	0.30		0.83	28.26		5.15
Independents	N/A	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	655	0.03		0.09	2.78		N/A
Valid votes									2,494,537	98.20% of total votes cast
Invalid (e.g. blank or spoilt) votes									45,822	1.80% of total votes cast
Total votes cast									2,540,359	Voter turnout: 95.81% of eligible voters
Did not vote									111,076
Eligible voters (excluding walkover voters)									2,651,435
Walkover voters									0
Electorate									2,651,435

Images for kids

• 

  PAP and SPP campaign posters during the GE2020.

• 

  A polling card which included a recommended two-hour time slot.

See also

In Spanish: Elecciones generales de Singapur de 2020 para niños