Upswing in younger voters backing status quo in GE2025: IPS study

But overall trend towards political pluralism has grown among Singaporeans, survey finds

- Tham Yuen-C

Younger voters backing the political status quo were likely a key factor in the nationwide swing of 4.33 percentage points to the People's Action Party in the May 3 General Election, defying the growing trend of greater desire for political pluralism among Singaporeans.

This was among the findings by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in its post-election survey, which polled 2,056 voting-age Singaporeans on international research firm YouGov's Singapore panel through an online, self-administered survey.

The results shed some light on what has been described as a landslide win by the PAP in GE2025, which saw the party's share of the popular vote increase to 65.57 per cent from 61.24 per cent in GE2020.

IPS, which has conducted similar surveys since 2006, found a sharp rise in conservatives, or those who support the political status quo, among those aged 20 to 39.

The researchers had grouped respondents into three categories—conservatives, pluralists and swing voters—based on their answers to five statements. The statements were: The need for checks and balances in Parliament; the need for differing views in Parliament; the importance of elected MPs from opposition parties; whether the election system is fair to all political parties; and whether there is a need to change the election system.

Among respondents in the 20 to 29 age group, the proportion of conservative voters rose to 28.6 per cent in GE2025 from 13.3 per cent in GE2020, and among the 30 to 39 age group, the proportion rose to 25.7 per cent in GE2025 from 15 per cent in GE2020.

This was accompanied by a slight fall in the proportion of pluralists, or those who believe in the need for political diversity, among these groups.

In comparison, IPS found growing support for political diversity among those aged 40 and above. The sharpest increase was among those aged 55 to 64, with pluralists outstripping conservatives in this age group.