The People's Action Party (abbrev: PAP; simplified Chinese: 人民行动党; traditional Chinese: 人民行動黨; pinyin: Rénmín Xíngdòng Dǎng; Malay: Parti Tindakan Rakyat; Tamil: மக்கள் செயல் கட்சி) has been Singapore's ruling political party since 1959. It is one of the two major parties in Singapore, the other being the Workers' Party.
Since the 1963 general elections, the PAP has dominated Singapore's parliamentary democracy and has been central to the city-state's rapid political, social, and economic development. However, it has been criticized for the passing of laws that suppress free speech and other civil liberties.
In the 2011 Singapore general election, the PAP won 81 of the 87 constituency elected (99 total) seats in the Parliament of Singapore while receiving 60.14% of total votes cast, the lowest share garnered since independence.
Read more about People's Action Party: Political Development, Organization, Ideology, Leadership
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