Cost of living tops Singaporeans' concerns ahead of GE, 1 in 4 voters undecided on who to support: Survey

SINGAPORE: The cost of living has emerged as the top concern of Singaporeans heading into this year’s general election, for which over a quarter have not yet made up their minds on who they will be voting for, a new survey has found.

Concerns over jobs and unemployment came in second, while the state of the economy followed in third place, according to the study by Blackbox Research’s sentiment tracker SensingSG.

Released on Thursday (Jan 16), the survey was done earlier this month and involved 1,310 Singaporeans eligible to vote in this year’s electoral contest, varied by ethnicity, age, gender, housing type and region to represent national demographics.

The next general election must be held by Nov 23 this year. It will be Singapore’s 14th since independence, and the first under the country’s fourth-generation leadership led by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

“Despite all the media noise surrounding politicians in 2024, our findings highlight that Singaporeans are prioritising practical, everyday issues over everything else,” said Blackbox Research founder and CEO David Black.

He noted that factors such as tangible improvements in local government services and the cost of living are at the front of mind of the electorate.

“As we edge closer to GE2025, it’s clear that voters are more focused on their own balance sheets than they are on any wider themes,” said Mr Black.

UNDECIDED VOTERS

About one in four Singaporeans remain undecided on who they will pick at the next general election, with 26.8 per cent of respondents indicating that they are either not very certain or not at all.

Younger Singaporeans between 21 and 29 are the least certain age group, with a third undecided about their choice.

Of the eligible voters who are very or quite certain of their decision come Polling Day, older Singaporeans aged 50 and above are the most secure about their choices, with almost three-quarters sure about it.

Voters from middle-income and high-income households are also significantly more sure of their decisions, with 74 per cent saying they know who they intend to vote for, compared to 65 per cent of low-income voters.

ECONOMIC CONCERNS A PRIORITY

As for the key factors shaping their decisions at the ballot box, the survey respondents largely identified economic issues as their top concerns.

Each respondent was asked to select their top two concerns from a list of 20 factors.

While the cost of living and inflation (34.8 per cent), jobs and unemployment (15.6 per cent), and the state of the economy (15 per cent) occupied the top three spots, political considerations followed closely.

Concerns over political stability and consistency (14 per cent), trust in a political party (13.5 per cent), and leadership of the current government (11.6 per cent), sat in fourth to sixth place respectively.

Housing costs (11.5 per cent) followed in seventh place. It also ranked highly among voters aged under 49, emerging as one of that segment’s top three election issues.

The need for fresh thinking (8.2 per cent), defence and national security (8.1 per cent), and support for the lower income (7.9 per cent), rounded up the top 10.

Other factors, such as political scandals or politicians' moral standards (5.7 per cent), the costs of motor vehicles or Certificates of Entitlement (4.1 per cent), and support for people with mental or physical disabilities (6.6 per cent), ranked lower for voters, according to the survey.

CONSTITUENCY OVER NATIONAL MATTERS

The survey also found that the quality of governance at the constituency level matters more to voters than at the national level, with almost 90 per cent of respondents indicating that sentiment.

For 88 per cent of respondents, the quality of candidates standing in their constituency is important to them, while 87.8 per cent highlighted the importance of service delivery and infrastructure in their wards.

These factors outweighed national-level considerations, such as who the eventual prime minister will be, which party can best lead the country, and the government’s performance since the last election.

While MPs on a whole received positive appraisals from their constituents — 87.1 per cent said their performance since the last election has been good or better — there were notable disparities by region and demographic.

Residents in the west are the least satisfied, with almost a fifth — 17.8 per cent — of them rating their parliamentarians’ performance negatively.

In contrast, constituents in the central part of Singapore are the most satisfied, with over 90 per cent saying their MPs have done a good to excellent job.

Older Singaporeans aged 60 and up were most dissatisfied with their MPs, with almost a quarter — 24.4 per cent — expecting better.

About 91 per cent of respondents in their 20s and 30s, on the other hand, found their MPs’ performance favourable.