Singapore parliament dissolved, elections due soon

December 16, 1996
Web posted at: 12:15 p.m. EST (1715 GMT)

SINGAPORE (CNN) -- Singapore's parliament was dissolved Monday, setting the stage for general elections expected to go to the People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled since 1959. A government-controlled newspaper predicted the election would be held January 4, even though Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is not required to call elections before April 1997. The current parliament's five-year term ends January 5.

The PAP's percentage of votes has dropped in recent years but Singapore's electoral system -- devised to protect Indian and Malay minorities in the Chinese-dominated country -- has preserved the PAP's dominance of parliament. Opposition parties won more than 40 percent of the vote in 1991 elections but ended up with just four of the 81 seats.

Reuters contributed to this report.

 

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