The agreement to divide up wards means opposition forces will not compete against each other to the advantage of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), but their ability to field a credible line-up of candidates remains in doubt.

"They avoided a three-way fight in the last election, that is not new," said Eddie Lee, strategist with Vickers Ballas.

"The problem is whether they have sufficient good candidates to put together in group representation constituencies (GRC)."

Opposition parties with limited candidates are often unable to find enough people to contest multi-candidate constituencies.

Some of the 22 opposition parties are pooling resources to target single-seat wards and a handful of the multi-candidate GRCs that have helped the PAP stay in power since 1965.

The major opposition parties -- The Workers' Party, Singapore Democratic Party, the four-party Singapore Democratic Alliance and the Democratic Progressive Party -- have said they might contest 51 seats in all, consisting of eight GRCs and eight single-seat wards.

LEADING OPPOSITION MAY STAY SINGLE

The PAP won 65 percent of the ballot to take 81 of 83 seats in the last election in 1997.

Opposition parties, seen as fragmented and lacking coherence on their platforms, are focusing on more relief for workers who have lost jobs in the economic downturn, cheaper medical care and the cost of living.

The incumbent opposition, holding the two seats in parliament, are likely to defend their positions in single-seat wards while newer members of their parties contest the GRCs.

But the PAP has criticised opposition MPs for not taking on larger constituencies.

"He's been 17 years now in Parliament, he's well known, he's not a fly-by-night politician," Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew was quoted saying in the Sunday Times of prominent opposition leader Chiam See Tong, who heads the Singapore Democratic Alliance.

"With 17 years of his record behind him, he should lead a team and take a GRC. And if he wins, he's got the basis for a political party, an alternative to the PAP," he said.

CREDIBLE OPPOSITION WANTED

Voters who hanker for a small but credible opposition to liven and balance Singapore's political scene say the opposition will be lucky to retain their seats.

"They will continue to give us an alternative voice if they do not spread themselves thin and are returned," said a financial consultant who declined to be identified.

But she said grouses people had in the last election, such as living in a culturally and socially restrictive environment, were less prominent this time because of changes brought by the Internet.

"The government realised they couldn't keep tabs on people, controlling access to information, so they went with the flow. There is less reason to vote for just any alternative voice."

The state of the economy is expected to be a main election issue though voters question the oppositions' ability to fix it.

"There should be an economic impact to the elections, but you look around and ask what is the alternative," Vickers' Lee said.

The PAP is fielding 25 new candidates including young bankers, doctors and other professionals as the ruling party courts voters with its track record, more spending and promises of economic recovery.

"The PAP's line-up is impeccable as far as credentials," said marketing executive Kuay Soong Teck.

"It's understood the elections will be a white-wash, the question is whether opposition wards go back to the PAP."