PAP spent S$6.97m on GE2020, nearly as much as the amount all parties spent in 2015

Singapore — The People’s Action Party (PAP) alone spent S$6.97 million on the recent General Election, just a whisker less than the S$7.1 million all political parties spent in the 2015 polls, according to expenses submitted to the Elections Department (ELD).

The ELD published a compilation of candidates’ expenses for the July 10 polls on Friday (Aug 21) that showed that candidates spent more than S$9 million, even though most campaign activities took place digitally due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The PAP, which has the deepest pockets of all the political parties, spent S$2.36 per voter — significantly higher than the amount other parties spent per voter.

The 10 opposition parties that collectively contested all 93 seats spent a total of S$2.16 million — far less than the S$6.97 million the PAP spent on those seats. Among the opposition parties, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) forked out the most money and spent a total of S$781,275 on the 24 seats it contested across nine wards.

The Workers’ Party (WP), the only opposition party that was elected to Parliament in the recent polls, was the second-biggest spender among the opposition and spent S$705,647 on the 21 seats it stood in across six wards.

Although the WP contested fewer seats than the PSP and ultimately spent less on the election than the PSP, it spent S$1.21 per voter — 2 cents more than the S$1.19 PSP spent per voter. New political party Red Dot United, which was registered only three weeks before the elections, spent S$13,152 — or the least per voter at 10 cents.

Members of the public can pay S$2 to the ELD to inspect the candidates’ expenses at the ELD building from now until Feb 20, 2021. /TISG