Singapore starts countdown to elections, forms panel for constituencies

Singapore's general elections could be just months away as prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, formed a panel to review electoral boundaries, an initial step towards calling a vote. Lee, the son of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, has held power since 2004 and is widely expected to step down after elections that must take place by early 2021.

The impending elections come as Singapore slashed its full-year economic growth forecast with global conditions worsening. Data last month confirmed Singapore's slowest growth rate in a decade amid mounting fears of a recession in the wealthy city-state. "The current administration has been actively thinking about not just short-term issues but also long-term challenges that the economy faces," said Jeff Ng, an economist at Continuum Economics.

Lee's People's Action Party (PAP) has dominated Singapore politics over the five decades since the republic's independence, winning all elections with significant majorities and facing no real challenges to its power. In the 2015 elections, the PAP won about 69.9 percent of the vote, more than its worst-ever showing of 60.1 percent in the previous election in 2011. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat was promoted in April to deputy prime minister, strengthening expectations that he will take over as the next leader of the wealthy city-state.

"Obviously, there have been succession plans set. When Heng Swee Keat was appointed deputy PM, he was given more responsibility and is seen by many as the face of the next generation leadership," Ng said. The former central banker is seen by analysts as a "safe pair of hands", especially given one of Singapore's most immediate challenges is keeping its open economy on an even keel in the face of rising protectionism and trade disputes between global powers.

Prime Minister Lee had previously hinted elections could come as soon as this year. In 2015, Lee convened the boundary committee about four months before a general election in September.

The elections department, which falls under Lee's office, said the committee would be chaired by the secretary to the prime minister. "It is now in the midst of its deliberations and will make its recommendations to the prime minister when it has completed its review," it said.

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