His father was the founder of the Singapore that we know today. During his 31 years as Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew brought this city-state out of misery and laid the foundation for building one of the world's financial centers. Today, his son Lee Hsien Loong, following the longevity of his father, has revalidated a position as prime minister that he has held since 2004.

In these pandemic times, they have been the first elections held in Southeast Asia. Lee, who is the president who charges the most in the entire planet (1.3 million euros per year), advanced the elections - planned for 2021 - to face the possible economic recession that comes with a stronger government. And now he is renewing another term at the head of the Popular Action Party (PAP), the political formation that has governed Singapore since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.

In recent weeks, the electoral campaign has been characterized by online rallies in a country that has totaled 45,614 cases of coronavirus and 26 died, although it has been one of the nations most praised for its management of the pandemic. In mid-January, when the coronavirus outbreak had already spread through Wuhan and was beginning to spread to the rest of China, in Singapore they became aware and decided to shield their three airports and carry out massive tests.

The government of the technocrat Lee launched an applauded tracking system for all those who had been in contact with an infected person. In just two hours, thanks to a mobile application, they had a list with their entire environment, which was immediately quarantined at home.

Preventive measures

During the election day, he highlighted preventive measures such as temperature controls at the entrances of the 1,100 polling stations, something that caused large queues in the centers, which is why the voting hours were also extended until 22.00. Older citizens had priority to vote in the morning. And authorities had urged younger voters not to accompany older voters to the centers.

There were 2.64 million registered voters in the census. The 93 parliamentarians have been elected in 17 constituency constituency constituencies, which are intended to ensure multiracial representation in Parliament. Voting was mandatory and total participation exceeded 93%. The PAP, again, rose to power for the fifteenth consecutive time. Lee's party, with 61% of the vote, has secured 83 of the 93 seats

Singapore's weak opposition is led by three parties: the Workers' Party, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) and the Singapore Democratic Party. Although only the first has representation (a dozen deputies) in Parliament. "I assume this mandate responsibly to deal with COVID-19 and the economic crisis," said the prime minister after learning the results.

Authoritative shadows

Lee Hsien Loong will return to lead this country of 5.6 million inhabitants with a prosperous democracy, but with many authoritarian shadows, especially regarding the relationship of power with the media. The press in Singapore is gagged . According to the Global 2020 Index of Press Freedom, this island nation ranks 158 out of the 180 countries examined. All major media are controlled - directly or indirectly - by the government. Radio and television channels are owned by Temasek, the state-owned investment company, whose executive director is Ho Ching, the prime minister's wife.

In the past three years, 'Forbes' magazine has positioned Ho as one of the most powerful women in the world. "Ho Ching has been in the Temasek sovereign fund for 16 years and has helped her portfolio grow to more than $ 235 billion," the publication said last year.

The main Singapore newspapers are controlled by a private group, Singapore Press Holdings, but they are also closely linked to the Lee government. Also, last year, Parliament passed a law against fake news. However, human rights defenders criticized the regulation as a tool to suppress freedom of expression and of the press in Singapore.

Control over Lee's media is a policy inherited from his father. Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March 2015 at age 91, was the son of a third generation of Chinese immigrants who settled in Singapore. His critics maintain that he maintained tight political control over every aspect of the state, ordering some annoying journalists to be arrested and restricting media reports. In the words of the late leader collected by the BBC: "In a developing country some freedoms had to be sacrificed and that the western concept of liberal democracy could not be applied."

But after his death, he received personality accolades such as former US President Barack Obama, who described him as a "true giant of history who will be remembered by generations as the father of modern Singapore and as one of the great strategists of affairs Asians. " Also from former British Prime Minister David Cameron: "Lee made Singapore one of the great success stories of the modern world."

A year after her death, fights began between her children. Two of them accused his brother and current Prime Minister of going against his father's wishes and abusing his power. His sister, surgeon Lee Wei Ling, posted a letter on Facebook in which she said the leader was "exploiting the late leader's legacy for his own benefit." Three years ago, another of his brothers, Lee Hsien Yang, who is president of the Singapore Civil Aviation Authority, said he was planning to leave the country as he felt "threatened by his powerful brother."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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