Singapore's long-ruling party wins another landslide in election boost for new prime minister

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore's long-ruling People’s Action Party won another landslide in Saturday’s general elections, extending its 66-year unbroken rule in a huge boost for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong who took power a year ago.

The Election Department announced the PAP won 82 Parliamentary seats after vote counting ended. The party had earlier won five seats uncontested, giving it 87 out of a total 97 seats. The opposition Workers Party maintained its 10 seats.

The PAP's popular vote rose to 65.6%, up from a near-record low of 61% in 2020 polls. Jubilant supporters of the PAP, which had ruled Singapore since 1959, gathered in stadiums waved flags and cheered in celebration.

A U.S.-trained economist who is also finance minister, Wong’s appeal for a resounding mandate to steer trade-reliant Singapore through economic troubles following U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes has hit home. The government has lowered its growth forecast and warned of a possible recession.

Wong, 52, said he was humbled and grateful for the solid mandate for the PAP. He acknowledged voters' desire to have more alternative voices in government, but said a strong PAP team was needed to tackle challenges ahead.

“The results will put Singapore in a better position to face this turbulent world,” he said.

Eugene Tan, a law professor at the Singapore Management University, said the opposition's failure to make further inroads after 2020 was a surprise. “Singapore voters played their cards close to their chest. Today, they indicated that their trust is with a party that has delivered over the years,” he said.

Wong succeeded Lee Hsien Loong to become the city-state's fourth leader. Lee stepped down in May 2024 after two decades at the helm but remained in the Cabinet as a senior minister. His retirement as premier ended a family dynasty started by his father, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first leader, who built the former colonial backwater into one of the world’s richest nations during 31 years in office.

The PAP is seen as a beacon of stability and prosperity, but tight government control and the rising cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities also has led to growing unhappiness, especially among younger voters. Widening income disparity, increasingly unaffordable housing, overcrowding and restrictions on free speech have loosened the PAP’s grip on power.

The opposition says giving it a stronger presence in Parliament will allow a more balanced political system and greater accountability. But they face an uphill task, often hamstrung by a lack of resources, fragmented support and a lack of unity. Critics said gerrymandering also gives the PAP an advantage.

Pritam Singh, leader of the Workers Party, acknowledged it was a tough contest and vowed to continue the fight for a more balanced Parliament. “The slate is wiped clean, we start work again tomorrow, and we go again,” he said.

The United States government offered its congratulations to Singapore and Wong.

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. and Singapore had shared a “strong and enduring strategic partnership and a commitment to a secure, free, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region" for almost 60 years.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with the newly elected government and Prime Minister Wong to strengthen economic growth and our bilateral defense and security ties, which benefit Americans, Singaporeans, and others across the region,” Rubio said.

While the Workers Party failed to expand its presence, it had consolidated its support with increased share vote in some areas, said Southeast Asia political analyst Bridget Welsh. Other smaller opposition parties however, failed to make a breakthrough.

Welsh said voters opted for stability amid concerns over global volatility due to sweeping U.S. tariffs. Wong's more approachable leadership in engaging younger voters and efforts to renew PAP by bringing in about a-third of new faces also helped swung votes, she said.

“I call this the Wong and Trump effect,” she said. “The issue of economic insecurity really did reinforce his mandate.”

Singapore opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General, Pritam Singh greets supporters at the assembly centre during the general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Singapore opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General, Pritam Singh looks on, at the assembly centre during the general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Singapore opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General, Pritam Singh shares a hug with party member, Jamus Lim at the assembly centre during the general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Singapore opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General, Pritam Singh is seen at the assembly centre during the general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's, from People's Action Party (PAP) thanks his supporters and voters at an assembly area for People's Action Party supporters, on the day of the general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's, from the People's Action Party (PAP), thanks his supporters and voters at an assembly area for People's Action Party supporters, on the day of the general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Workers' Party (WP) supporters react at an assembly centre during the general election, in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Workers' Party (WP) supporters react at an assembly centre during the general election, in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Workers' Party (WP) supporters react at an assembly centre during the general election, in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Workers' Party (WP) supporters react at an assembly centre during the general election, in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

A Singaporean voter casts their vote for general election at polling station in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his wife Jane Yumiko Ittogi leave the polling station after casting their votes during the general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

Officials at a polling station seal the ballot box after the voting closed in Singapore’s general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

A Singaporean rides his bike next workers' party flags at Hougang area in Singapore, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

People walk with umbrellas, with the centre business district in the background, in Singapore, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Pedestrians walk in front of the parliament building in Singapore, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Pedestrian walks in front of the parliament building in Singapore, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Singaporean voters arrives at a voting station to cast their vote for general election in Singapore, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

A man walks next to workers' party flags at Hougang area in Singapore, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

FILE - Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong arrives to participate in ASEAN-China summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”

— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.

—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”

— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.

People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)