A VOTE FOR PROGRESS

For the longest time, the umbrella term of "opposition" has been used to refer to the many different opposition parties and politicians collectively.

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But this has changed in recent times, with the standout performance of the WP since 2011.

While in the past, votes for opposition parties were often regarded as a vote for the opposition cause, or protest votes against the PAP, increasingly, votes for opposition parties will become more intentional.

This means opposition parties can no longer rely on the old formula of banking on antipathy towards the PAP.

At best, as this election shows, the die-hard anti-PAP vote bank is shrinking from the estimated 20 per cent to 30 per cent of voters, to below 20 per cent.

In constituencies like Tanjong Pagar GRC and Queenstown SMC, the PAP got 18.97 per cent and 18.88 per cent of votes, respectively.