Singapore, May 3 (PTI) Singaporeans voted in large numbers on Saturday in the general elections with the ruling People's Action Party seeking a new mandate amid strong headwinds and disruptions in the global economy.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong -- completing nearly a year in office -- is leading the People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed the city-state since Independence, and is widely expected to return to power.

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The Elections Department (ELD) said Singaporeans cast their votes for 92 out of 97 parliamentary seats at 1,240 polling stations island-wide to decide the future politics of Singapore. There are 27,58,846 registered voters in the country.

This was Singapore's 19th election since the first general election in 1948 and 14th since its Independence in 1965. The PAP has ruled Singapore ever since independence.

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Wong, 52, was sworn-in last May as the new prime minister in 20 years after Lee Hsien Loong stepped down after almost two decades.

Polling officially closed across Singapore at 8 pm local time, marking the end of 12 hours of voting in the nation's 14th General Election, reported Channel News Asia.

The vote counting is expected to go into early Sunday.

There was vociferous campaigning by opposition political parties, raising issues related to high cost of living and housing as well as increasing presence of foreigners in almost all sectors of the economy in the manpower-short Singapore.

Top PAP leaders were seen balancing their election schedules during the last nine days of campaigning since nominations closed on April 23 along with negotiating tariffs imposed by Singapore's largest trading partner US.

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong had been negotiating with his US counterparts on a 10 per cent tariff imposed on imports from Singapore.

Gan Kim Yong was challenged by Workers' Party, one of the stronger leading opposition parties, in the Punggol Group Representation Constituency.

Eleven political parties and two independents contested in 32 constituencies. The PAP fielded candidates in all 92 constituencies, while its main rival, the Workers' Party (WP), contested 26 seats in eight constituencies.

The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) fielded 13 candidates across six constituencies. Other parties in the fray included the Singapore People's Party (SPP), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), People's Power Party (PPP), People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), Red Dot United (RDU), National Solidarity Party (NSP), Singapore United Party (SUP), and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA).

Prime Minister Wong had urged Singaporeans to vote responsibly as the global economies are going through unprecedented challenges and led to uncertainties.

The finance-trade-export focused city state sits in the middle of US-China trade war, having historical bilateral economic and diplomatic relations with both the giant markets, diplomatic sources said.

Manufacturing activity in Singapore fell into recession territory in April 2025 as tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump triggered a wave of export-order deferments and cancellations.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI), a barometer of the manufacturing sector's health, fell to 49.6 points in April, down one point from 50.6 in March; readings above 50 indicate growth while those below point to contraction.

“The contraction in Singapore's factory activity snaps 19 straight months of expansion,” reported The Straits Times, citing a Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) report on Friday.

Meanwhile, the PAP had a walkover in one constituency of five members of parliament at the close of nomination day on April 23.

Ballot boxes, containing votes on printed paper slips by voters in person, were being transferred to the five appointed centres, the ELD said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has established temporary restricted areas over the assembly centres, and banned flying of drones, captive balloons and kites within the zone with the restricted boundaries in effect from 7 pm on Saturday till 6 am Sunday (local time).

AP added that the Election Department said turnout was about 82 per cent at 5 pm, three hours before voting ended and the results are expected to be known in the early hours of Sunday.

The PAP's share of the popular vote slipped to a near-record low of 61 per cent in 2020 elections, down from nearly 70 per cent in 2015 and although it kept 83 out of 93 parliamentary seats, the opposition gained ground with a record 10 seats, it said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)