Prior to the 2019 election, Singapore's Deputy PM Wong will head the governing party, the prime minister announces

 Prior to the 2019 election, Singapore's Deputy PM Wong will head the governing party, the prime minister announces

Nov. 5, Singapore (Reuters) - A year before an election is scheduled, in November 2024, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday that he would transfer leadership of the governing People's Action Party to Lawrence Wong, deputy prime minister as soon as the party celebrates its 70th anniversary.

It is largely anticipated that the party would continue to dominate the country it has controlled since independence in 1965, which means Wong will probably become Singapore's fourth premier and the next one.

Lee is the oldest child of Lee Kuan Yew, the man generally acknowledged for having founded contemporary Singapore. Since 2004, he has held the positions of party secretary-general and prime minister. Wong, the finance minister, was selected by him as his successor last year.

"There's no need to postpone Lawrence and his team's political transition since I have complete faith in them. "I therefore plan to turn over to DPM Lawrence prior to the next presidential election," Lee said at the party's annual meeting.

Lee, 71, had intended to hand over the reins before turning 70, but the COVID-19 outbreak caused a delay.

In a previous address at the conference, Wong, 50, said, "I am ready for my subsequent assignment."

As co-leader of the government's COVID-19 task group, Wong gained prominence and received accolades for his role in containing the virus and reducing fatalities by enforcing mobility restrictions, border limits, and contact tracking. Before taking on the roles of finance minister in 2021 and deputy prime minister the previous year, he managed the ministries of national development and education while serving as Lee's chief private secretary from 2005 to 2008.

In addition, Wong serves as head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the financial institution of the country in Southeast Asia, as well as deputy chairman of the sovereign wealth fund GIC.

"BOLD STEP"

While some commentators praised the "bold move" of changing leadership before to the next general election, the majority expressed skepticism over the potential effects on political stability.

"Giving Wong time to establish a rapport with the electorate after the general election would be the safer course of action for the party," political scientist Walid Jumblatt Abdullah of the Nanyang Technology University said.

However, he indicated that Lee will likely continue to serve in the government in some form, so turning over power early is unlikely to have an impact on stability.

In the 2020 election, the governing party secured 83 out of 93 parliamentary seats. However, since the election was conducted in the midst of a pandemic, the opposition's percentage of the popular vote fell to an almost all-time low, and their 10 seats win was unprecedented.

According to political scientist Chong Ja Ian college the National University of the nation of Singapore, "the significance is that Wong, who was is going to win his own mandate (in the next election)."