"This time they are wiser, they are gearing up early for elections," Goh was quoted as saying by the Straits Times on the sidelines of a Sunday visit to his Marine Parade ward.

"Now I think the competition will be tougher for the PAP candidates," he said. The election must be held by June 2007.

The PAP, which has dominated Singapore politics for decades, won 82 of the 84 seats in Parliament at the last elections in 2001, with 75 percent of the vote.

Singapore's opposition plays a marginal role in politics. Its leaders are hounded by lawsuits and their activities curbed by strict laws against protest rallies and lack of access to the mainstream media.

The fragmented opposition parties have held meetings possibly to map out a strategy to contest the next elections, which the local media speculated could be on the horizon after the government rolled out projects worth millions of dollars to upgrade public housing estates.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has given no indications when he will call an election but last month urged PAP cadres to help him secure a strong first mandate when the elections are held.

Lee, the son of Singapore's founding father and first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, became prime minister in August 2004 after Goh stepped down. Goh now holds the title of senior minister.

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