Polling stations have opened in Singapore for the country's general election, with the opposition seeking to erode the dominance of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in the most hotly contested poll in decades.

There are 2.2 million voters eligible to elect members of parliament for 82 of the 87 seats after one five-seat district was won by a PAP team led by the republic's founding father Lee Kuan Yew.
His son, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, is leading the PAP into an election for the second time since becoming head of government in 2004.
The opposition won only two of the 84 seats in the 2006 election but is aiming to grab more this time by tapping into voters' gripes over issues such as the rising cost of living and a huge influx of immigrants in recent years.
Six opposition parties are fighting the PAP, which has been taken aback by the depth of voter resentment against the party that has ruled the prosperous city-state for 52 years.
In a rare admission of concern, the prime minister has apologized for policy mistakes and gaffes since the last poll, including the 2008 escape of a suspected Islamist fighter, failure to prevent floods in 2010, high home prices and crowded metro trains.
“We're trying our best on your behalf. And if we didn't quite get it right, I'm sorry but we will try and do better the next time,” he said during the campaign.
(Source: Al Jazeera)