Politics of Singapore

Singapore is a representative democratic parliamentary republic in which the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. It has a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised mainly by the Cabinet, composed of Members of Parliament (MPs), and to a lesser extent, the president. The Cabinet has the general direction and control of the government and is accountable to Parliament. There are three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive and judiciary, resembling the Westminster system.

Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Singapore. The parliament is the national legislature, consisting of the president as its head and a single chamber whose members are elected by popular vote. The presidency, as the position of the head of state, has historically been largely ceremonial, although the constitution was amended in 1991 to give it limited veto powers in a few key decisions, e.g. the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key posts in the judiciary, the civil service and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The president also exercises powers over civil service appointments and national security matters.

Singapore has been described as a de facto one-party state, having been governed by the People's Action Party (PAP) since 1959. In the last general election held in 2025, the PAP won its 16th consecutive term in government with 87 out of 97 seats and 65.57% of the popular vote.