Editing Politics of Singapore (section)

==Political background==
Singaporean politics have been dominated by the [[People's Action Party]] (PAP) since the [[1959 Singaporean general election|1959 general election]] when [[Lee Kuan Yew]] became Singapore's first prime minister (Singapore was then a self-governing state within the British Empire). The PAP has been the only ruling party to form the government since then. Singapore joined the [[Malaysia|Federation of Malaysia]] in 1963 and gained independence in 1965 after being expelled.<ref>{{cite book | author=Worthington, Ross | title=Governance in Singapore | publisher=Routledge/Curzon | year=2002 | isbn=0-7007-1474-X}}</ref> 

To a large extent, "bread-and-butter" politics are used to maintain ideological hegemony, and reflect the basic materialistic orientation of Singapore politics. Opposition parties are used to contesting the PAP under these similar parameters.<ref name="b190">{{cite journal | last=Quah | first=Say Jye | last2=Seah | first2=Bertrand | title=Bread-and-Butter Politics: Arrested Liberalization and Hegemonic Materialism in Singapore | journal=Critical Asian Studies | volume=56 | issue=4 | date=2024 | issn=1467-2715 | doi=10.1080/14672715.2024.2374753 | doi-access=free | pages=515–538}}</ref> In spite of the ideological hegemony, a survey by [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] has demonstrated an increase in perceived political division between people who support different political parties since 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/16/most-across-19-countries-see-strong-partisan-conflicts-in-their-society-especially-in-south-korea-and-the-u-s/ |title=Most across 19 countries see strong partisan conflicts in their society, especially in South Korea and the U.S. |website=Pew Research Center|date=16 November 2022}}</ref>

Singapore has consistently been rated as the [[Corruption in Singapore|least-corrupt]] country in Asia and amongst the top ten cleanest in the world by [[Transparency International]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi | title = Transparency International&nbsp;— Corruption Perceptions Index 2005 | access-date = 2006-04-13 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060619145956/http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi | archive-date = 19 June 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Corruption Surveys and Indices | work=Transparency International website | url=http://www.transparency.org/surveys/index.html | access-date=22 April 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051208004556/http://www.transparency.org/surveys/index.html | archive-date=8 December 2005}}</ref> The World Bank's governance indicators have also rated Singapore highly on rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness. However, it is widely perceived that some aspects of the political process, civil liberties, and political, labour and human rights are lacking.<ref>{{cite web | title=Governance Indicators: 1996-2004 | work=World Bank website | url=http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/govdata/ | access-date=22 April 2006}}</ref> {{Democracy Index rating|Singapore|flawed democracy|2024}} [[Freedom House]] deemed Singapore "partly free" in 2025, at 48/100 — 19/40 for political rights, 29/60 for civil liberties.<ref name="FreedomHouse">{{cite web|title=Singapore|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/2025|publisher=Freedom House|access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref>