Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of the ruling People’s Action Party celebrate a win in his constituency in Singapore, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015.

Singapore’s prime minister on Saturday lauded the city-state’s youth vote for helping return his party to power in a massive election victory, and reversing a worrying drop in popularity it suffered in the last polls five years ago.

The ruling People’s Action Party got 83 of the 89 seats in Parliament while the opposition Workers’ Party captured six in Friday’s elections.

“It is a good result for the PAP, but it is an excellent result for Singapore,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in the early hours of Saturday, after final results were announced. He said the result would not have been possible without broad support from all sections of the society.

“And in particular, it could not have been done without strong support from the young … it shows that the young people understand what is at stake, support what we are doing, really to secure a bright future for Singapore,” he said.

The victory of the People’s Action Party was never in doubt – it has won every election since independence in 1965 – but what was notable was the percentage of votes it secured: nearly 70 percent of all votes cast compared to 60 percent in the 2011 elections.