Singapore's ruling party PAP to form gov't: vote sample

People's Action Party (PAP) supporters cheer as they wait for polling results at a stadium in Singapore September 11, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

SINGAPORE - Singapore's ruling People's Action Party (PAP) have crossed the 45-seat mark and will form government, according to results of sample count by the Elections Department on Friday.

The sample count, which is made public for the first time, offers an early indication of the possible result for each of the 29 constituencies. The results were derived from a count of 100 ballot papers from each polling station within a constituency, after voting ends at 8 p.m. local time. There are 832 polling stations in the city state.

The Elections Department stressed that the sample count results are not final, but the preliminary results were found to have a confidence level of 95 percent, plus or minus 4 percentage points, reported by local media.

The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) was challenged in all available 89 parliamentary seats for the first time in the city state's history. The 89 seats were split into 16 group representation constituencies (GRCs), where the candidates from a contesting party is required to be fielded as a team, and 13 single member constituencies (SMCs).

The ruling People's Action Party took 81 of the 87 seats at 2011 general election with 60.14 percent of the popular votes, which is lower than the 66.6 percent in general election in 2006.