“Political Parties, Party Systems and Democratization in Asia –

Some Observations”

Lye Liang Fook

Research Fellow, East Asian Institute for Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s

Asian-German Dialogue

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Some New Trends• Some realignment of the world’s center of

gravity from West to East– Hastened by the 2008 financial contagion

• Excesses of too liberal market economics– India and especially China as key pillars in restoring

confidence and growth• “Beijing Consensus” versus “Washington

Consensus”– Not an official policy but many Chinese take pride in

this• Implications: Asia will play an increasing role in

reshaping the world order, including throwing up new models of governance

Key Thrusts (I)• Renewed interests in the nature of political parties and

party systems in Asia• Liberal democracy as a “single, coherent, evolutionary

process”– Francis Fukuyama’s “End of History” Thesis

• Economic development will raise political consciousness, spuring demands for a more democratic form of government– Modernization theory of democratization (Lipset, Amartya Sen;

Graeme Gill)

• Culture and Democracy– a democratic structure is more secure if its political structure and

processes is oriented to popular values and beliefs (Almond & Verba)

• Will democracy eventually come to all countries in Asia?

Key Thrusts (II)• Need for an open and even receptive attitude to

the political experiments in each country– Asia presents a rather mixed picture of political

parties and party systems at different development stages

– Need to take into account prevailing history, political & socio-economic conditions (different circumstances)

• Nevertheless, Asia’s ascendance should not lull us into the illusion that what is practiced or proposed in the region is the gospel truth

Broad Classification – for Discussion Purposes Only

• Widely considered authoritarian systems– China, Myanmar, North Korea, sometimes Singapore

• Widely considered relatively democratic political systems– Democratic consolidation

• e.g. India, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Indonesia

– Democracy in transition• Malaysia and sometimes Singapore

– Democratic backsliding• Thailand?

• Key point: Wide variations even among those classified under the same category

China’s Political Party System• Communist Party of China (CPC)

proactively adapting itself to remain at apex of power– “The Party Goes On” (Economist, 28 May 2009)

– Four key areas of adaptation• Widening CPC’s social base• Promoting intra-Party democracy• Engaging in grassroots democracy• Allowing greater room for social organizations to

operate

Rising CPC Membership

60.461.9

63.264.5

65.766.9

68.269.6

70.872.4

74.275.9

77.9

2.4

8

2.1

2.0

6

1.8

6

1.8

3 1.9

4 2.0

5

1.7

2

2.2

5 2.4

8

2.2

9

2.7

2

50

55

60

65

70

75

801997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Year

To

tal

Mem

ber

ship

(M

illi

on

s)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

% C

ha

ng

e

Source: CCP Website and various Xinhua News sources

Composition of CCP Members (2009)

Workers8.9%

P easants30.8%

P arty and Government officials

8.5%

Managers and P rofessionals in

Enterprises and Non-P rofit Organizations

22.7%

Students2.9%

Retired P ersonnel18.6%

Other P rofessions7.6%

Source: CCP website and various Chinese news sources

Size of Newly-Recruited CPC Members (2003-2009)

Source: CCP website and various Chinese news sources

2.2352.418 2.475

2.6352.782 2.807

2.971

8.2

6.5

2.4

5.6

0.9

5.8

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

New

ly-R

ecru

ited

Mem

bers

(M

illio

ns)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

% C

hang

e

New-Recruited Members:Age, Gender, Education & Minority Representation

(2009)

2.2

29

2.2

68

2.4

11

0.9

94

1.0

23

1.1

13

0.8

66

0.8

62

0.9

19

0.1

87

0.1

98

0.2

24

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Siz

e in

Mill

ion

s

35 years andbelow

Females CollegeEducation and

Above

Minorities

2007

2008

2009

Source: CCP website and various Chinese news sources

Intra-Party Democracy• Organize semi-competitive polls to elect top

leaders of Politburo Standing Committee (Oct ’07)– Greater institutionalization of leadership transition

• Emphasize greater accountability and transparency of Party and government officials

• Provide timely information of public concern– Sichuan earthquake (May ’08) and Tibet Riots (Jun

’09)• Engage eight other democratic parties in policy-

making– Under the CPC leadership

The Eight Democratic PartiesName Date of Foundation Main Constituents Membership Chairperson of

Central Committee

China Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang

January 1948 Former Kuomintang members and people having historical connections with the Kuomintang

81,000 He Luli

China Democratic League October 1941 Senior and leading intellectuals in culture, education, and science and technology

> 181,000 Jiang Shusheng

China Democratic National Construction Association

December 1945 Industrialists and businessmen > 108,000 Cheng Siwei

China Association for Promoting Democracy

December 1945 Senior and leading intellectuals in culture, education and publishing

> 103,000 Xu Jialu

Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party

August 1930 Senior and leading intellectuals in medical field

> 99,000 Jiang Zhenghua

China Zhi Gong Dang October 1925 Middle and upper social strata of returned overseas Chinese and their relatives

> 28,000 Luo Haocai

Jiu San Society May 1946 Senior and leading intellectuals in science and technology

> 105,000 Han Qide

Taiwan Democratic Self-government League

November 1947 People born or with family roots in Taiwan

> 2,100 Lin Wenyi

Grassroots Democracy

• Local elections– 1987 Village Committee Organic Law– Extend beyond villages to township and county levels– Emphasis on perfecting existing direct elections

instead of expanding it

• Public scrutiny of party and government officials– Zhou Jiugeng (former Director of the real estate

administration of Jiangning district in Jiangsu province) fired in Dec ’08

– Deng Yujiao (waitress working at a hotel in Badong city in Hubei province) was spared punishment for murder in Jun ’09

Size of NGOs in China (1998-2009)

1843

1597

1340

1144

975

892

954

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

No.

of

Soc

ial O

rgan

izat

ion

s &

Civ

il N

on-E

nte

rpri

se I

nst

itu

tion

s

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

No.

of

Fou

nd

atio

ns

Social Organizations Civil Non-Enterprise Institutions Foundations

Key Points• “China will not have a system of multiple parties

holding office in rotation; will not go for a division of powers” (Wu Bangguo, Mar ’11)

• “Political reform, which the country has done on its own terms, has made it possible for China’s economic development to maintain a fast pace since the reform and opening-up” (China Daily, 6 Nov ’10)

• “Different countries have different election rules and a socialist China won't follow Western election campaigns” (China Daily, 20 Mar ’10)

• CCP making a concerted effort to maintain its monopoly on power

Singapore’s Political Party SystemSome Negative Views• “Current Singaporean laws and policies on

freedom of expression, assembly, and association sharply limit peaceful criticism of the government and have been used repeatedly to stymie the development of opposition political parties and dissenting voices” (Human Rights Watch World Report 2011 on Singapore)

• “Singapore: Human Rights, Singaporean Style” (Far Eastern Economic Review, Dec ’09)

• “Starting a Party, and Hoping to Crash Singapore's Parliament Again” (New York Times (May ’08)

Some Positive Views• “Singapore enjoys good social order and is well-managed. We must adapt their

experience and do even better than them” (Deng Xiaoping, 1992)- Led to “Singapore fever”

• “Multi-party not a must for democracy” (Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, May ’06)

• At a public dialogue to mark CNN’s 30th anniversary, when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was asked what he hopes his legacy will be (Oct ’10)

“Let me get my job done first. The legacy can look after itself...

“It's not easy to keep a system going. The Chinese say, to create an enterprise is hard, to maintain it is even harder. And here we are seeking not just to maintain it but to build on what we have achieved, and make... the previous generations' achievements the foundation on which we will scale new heights”.

• What is important is whether the government of the day can deliver a better life for a majority of the population; democracy while important should not to be pursued as an end goal to the detriment of other considerations

Singapore’s Political Party System - Brief Overview

• People’s Action Party (PAP) has held power since 1959– Unicameral legislature– First-past-the-post-system– Simple majority to form the next government

• Singapore not a one-party system but one-party dominant system– Around 28 political parties

• More active ones about 10

More Active Political Parties

People’s Action Party

Workers’ Party

Singapore People’s Party

Singapore Democratic Alliance

Singapore JusticeParty

Singapore Malay National Organisation

Singapore Democratic Party

National SolidarityParty

Reform Party

Socialist Front

Elected Presidency - Political Innovation

• Established in 1991; Six year term

• Powers: has veto powers over the spending of national reserves and monetary policies as well as over the appointments of key positions in the Civil Service, government companies and Statutory Boards

• Eligilibility: the person who is to be elected as President should be a Singapore citizen, at least 45 years old with at least three years experience as Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of Parliament, Judge or Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court, Auditor-General, Accountant-General, Chairman of the Public Service Commission or Permanent Secretary, Chairman or Chief Executive Officer of a company with paid-up capital of at least S$100 million

• The Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) determines the suitability of candidates. A certificate would be issued to prospective candidates only when the committee is satisfied that the person is of good integrity, character and reputation and has the ability and experience in financial management necessary for the job

Results of Past Presidential Elections

Results

 

Year Name of Candidates Votes Polled% of Votes Polled

2005 (2,113,540) S R Nathan Uncontested  

1999 (1,967,984) S R Nathan Uncontested  

1993 (1,756,517) Chua Kim Yeow 670,358 41.31

Ong Teng Cheong 952,513 58.69

Source: Singapore Elections Department Website

Parliamentary Elections – Political Innovations

• Held every five years • Three types of MPs (numbers below based on last elections in May 2011):

• Elected MPs• Single Member Constituency (12)• Group Representation Constituency

• Established in 1988 (15)• Total of 27 electoral districts with 87 MPs (up from 84 before)

• Non-Constituency MPs (NCMPs)• Established in 1984; given to best performing opposition candidates• Parliamentary Elections Act allows 9 NCMP, less the number of

opposition MPs elected• Currently only 3 NCMPs (Two from Workers’ Party and one from

Singapore People’s Party)• Nominated MPs (NMPs)

• Established in 1990; candidates recommended by Parliament and approved by President

• Constitution allows for nine NMPs• NMP now a permanent institution, no need for a new parliament to

seek approval

Political Reforms Before May ’11 Parliamentary Elections

(Approved in Apr ’10)

• GRCs average size reduced from current 5.4 to either 5 or 4

• SMCs raised from the current 9 to 12

• NCMPs (or opposition candidates) in Parliament raised from the current 6 to 9

• NMP Scheme made permanent (9 members)

• Purpose: cater to Singaporean’s desire for more diverse voices in Parliament

Number of Seats and Share of Popular Votes Won by the PAP in Past Elections

• 1955: Won 3 out of 25 seats. 1st year after PAP was formed• 1959: Won 43 out of 51 seats; obtained 53.4% of popular votes. PAP

forms the government• 1963: Won 37 out of 51 seats; obtained 46.4% of popular votes • 1968: Swept all 58 seats; obtained 84% of popular votes• 1972: Swept all 65 seats; obtained 69% of popular votes• 1976: Swept all 69 seats; obtained 72% of popular votes• 1980: Swept all 75 seats; obtained 77% of popular seats• 1984: Won 77 out of 79 seats; obtained 65% of popular votes• 1988: Won 80 out of 81 seats; obtained 63% of popular votes• 1991: Won 77 out of 81 seats; obtained 61% of popular votes• 1997: Won 81 out of 83 seats; obtained 65% of popular votes• 2001: Won 82 out of 84 seats; obtained 75% of popular votes• 2006: Won 82 out of 84 seats; obtained 66.6% of popular votes• 2011: Won 81 out of 87 seats; obtained 60.1% of popular votes

Some Observations on 2011 Parliamentary Elections

• Most Singaporeans still want the dominant PAP to govern– Proven track record– However, would like see review or adjustments of policies e.g.

ministerial pay, cost of living, affordable housing

• More Singaporeans welcome a greater role for opposition parties– Worker’s Party increase share of seats in Parliament from 1 to 6– Other opposition parties also saw improved showing (increase in

share of valid votes)

• 2011 elections described in some quarters as a watershed in Singapore’s political development– More contested seats; more apparent credible candidates in

opposition; more opposition seats in Parliament

Final Remarks (I)

• Political parties in China and Singapore (and generally elsewhere) constantly have to grapple with the challenge of staying relevant to the times – Need to be responsive or to be seen as responsive to

the needs of the population • The CCP in China and the PAP in Singapore are

proactively adapting themselves to remain in power• In this adaptation process, they have taken steps or

adopted measures that they regard as being more democratic

– E.g. create a more inclusive party, allow for more voices in the legislature

Final Remarks (II)• Emphasis on having proper or good governance regardless of political

stripes– Whether it is a democratic or authoritarian system appears less

important• More important to be able to deliver the goods

– Majority of population also appear supportive of the ruling party although they would like greater transparency and accountability

• Yet, there are also significant differences between the two countries– E.g. nature of elections held; role of the opposition parties– Although both share some degree of authoritarianism, and have

adopted democratic practices, they are charting their own political paths suited to local conditions

• The political parties and party systems in China and Singapore appear likely to endure for some time

• A coherent and predictable outcome for party systems and political parties in these two countries (and generally elsewhere) is not so apparent

Thank You