GE2025: Deciphering the broader shifts behind PAP's record slate of new faces
Although there is a longstanding perception that the People’s Action Party draws heavily from the public sector including the military, data from recent general elections compiled and analysed by CNA TODAY indicate that the private sector has been the party’s main hunting ground. Other trends have emerged as well.
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Over the past few months, new faces wearing the signature white shirts of the People’s Action Party (PAP) have been seen in neighbourhoods across Singapore, knocking on doors, talking to hawkers and shaking hands with people having their breakfast, sometimes doing so alongside senior Members of Parliament.
These men and women are expected to be among the PAP candidates to be fielded in the General Election (GE) on May 3 and as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said, will feature the party’s “largest slate of new faces in recent history”.
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Traditionally, the PAP has drawn its new candidates from four main sectors:
- The public sector, which includes government ministries, statutory boards and the military
- Private sector companies, including government-linked corporations such as Temasek
- Non-governmental organisations and civil society groups such as charities and unions, including the National Trades Union Congress
- Academia
However, attracting younger candidates to the party has long been an uphill task.
Dr Mustafa said some young people may be reluctant about joining politics because they might not feel ready or feel like they need more time to be "tested" on the ground first.
Others may be reluctant to step into the public spotlight at all, with political service not ranking highly on their list of priorities. At this stage in life, most people are focused on building their careers, he added.
Some younger people may also lean towards joining opposition parties instead if their interests, values and ideologies are more aligned with the opposition.
That being said, Dr Mustafa noted that PAP has done reasonably well in recruiting young candidates, especially this year.
Even though having young candidates does not necessarily mean winning more votes, it certainly does help with engaging voters of specific age groups, he said.
“The belief is that (candidates of each generation) would be able to understand better the challenges and concerns faced by their peers,” he added.
