Singapore’s ruling party, marking an unbroken half-century in power this year, faces a more uncertain future without its founder and the city’s longest-serving leader, Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee, whose son is the current premier, led a party that has held at least 90 percent of parliamentary seats since independence as the city grew into a financial center and technology manufacturing hub. The People’s Action Party is expected to retain a majority at the next ballot, which must be held by January 2017. Still, the PAP was re-elected in 2011 with 60 percent of the popular vote, its lowest share since 1965, as rising living costs and an influx of foreign workers erode support among Singapore’s 5.5 million people.