SINGAPORE – Political parties have announced their slates across about two-thirds of Singapore’s 33 constituencies, with five days to go before Nomination Day on April 23.
The PAP began formally introducing its candidates on April 12, starting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s team in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.
In all, the ruling party has announced its slate for 18 constituencies – mostly in western and central Singapore. It has also unveiled its line-ups to contest the Workers’ Party-held Aljunied and Sengkang GRCs and Hougang SMC.
In comparison, the WP has introduced onlyits Sengkang GRC slate, comprising incumbent MPs He Ting Ru, Jamus Lim and Louis Chua, and new face Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik.
The Progress Singapore Party has announced its candidates for Kebun Baru and Marymount SMCs, but not Chua Chu Kang and West Coast-Jurong West GRCs where it has said it will run.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Democratic Party has announced its candidates for Marsiling-Yew Tee and Sembawang GRCs, and Sembawang West and Bukit Panjang SMCs.
Other opposition parties such as Red Dot United, Singapore United Party (SUP) and the coalition People’s Alliance for Reform have put forth candidates in some constituencies, while others like the People’s Power Party (PPP) have staked their claims without confirming their full slates.
Institute of Policy Studies Social Lab research fellow Teo Kay Key noted that based on the current rate at which the PAP has been revealing its slates by constituencies, all line-ups could be out by Nomination Day.
“That said, we might still leave some room for redeployments up until the candidate lists are posted up on the board at the nomination centres,” she said.
While there is some clarity in constituencies in western and central Singapore, the PAP and WP may be holding off on finalising candidates in constituencies where they expect to go head-to-head – in the east and north-east, political observers said.
Both may be waiting on last-minute changes, including movements of political heavyweights on either side, before firming up plans.
Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Gillian Koh said: “At this point, the constituencies of interest include East Coast GRC where the PAP and WP will most certainly face off.
“Another one to watch at this point is Punggol GRC where it is not immediately clear who the PAP’s heavyweight anchor candidate will be.”
The incumbents there are Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary and Minister of State Sun Xueling – and first-term MP Yeo Wan Ling. PAP GRCs are traditionally anchored by a full minister, although this is not always the case.
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Dr Koh also noted Tampines GRC as an anomaly, as the PAP has already introduced its candidates there despite the possibility of a WP contest.
The PAP may have decided to reveal its slate early, to assure the Malay/Muslim ground in the group representation constituency.
“It was important to state (Minister Masagos Zulkifli’s return) earlier than not as I would imagine the Malay/Muslim ground would be anxious to know if there could be a change in who the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs is,” Dr Koh said.
Also, Tampines may still have a multi-cornered fight, she noted.
“The WP is probably assessing the cost of playing for Tampines especially if other opposition parties continue to express interest in it,” said Dr Koh.
It is unlikely to squander precious resources taking on other opposition parties there, she said.
Both the PPP and National Solidarity Party (NSP) have expressed interest in contesting there, but have not confirmed their slates.
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Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said both the PAP and WP want to field a suitable set of candidates – which often means knowing who the other side is sending, especially their big names.
“For the PAP, it is their anchors, while for the WP, it is their anchors plus any ‘star’ new face,” Associate Professor Tan added.
In GE2020, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat made a surprise move on Nomination Day to East Coast GRC, despite public expectation that he would return to Tampines GRC.
This year, some potential surprise moves could involve DPM Heng remaining in East Coast amid speculation that he may retire, and the WP moving its star catch – senior counsel Harpreet Singh – from Marine Parade, where he has walked the ground, to East Coast, said Dr Koh.
She also suggested that it would not be “too outlandish” for the WP to move senior party leaders like chairwoman Sylvia Lim or Mr Gerald Giam over to helm the team in the new Punggol GRC.
“Overall, in the east and central areas, the WP is probably contemplating how best to optimise the use of Ms Lim, Mr Giam and Mr Harpreet Singh – which constituencies they should anchor,” she said.
“The PAP, with far more senior political leaders to go around, need not show its hand early.”
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Prof Tan said the relative slowness in confirming the line-ups may affect how voters perceive the slates.
One point that the parties should consider is that the more time a voter has to know a party’s slate in his constituency, the better it is, he added.
Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, agreed, pointing out that it is in the interest of both PAP and opposition candidates for voters to be familiar with them.
Dr Teo said the final line-up in a constituency may not matter as much to voters who look more at a political party’s brand or whether it can provide appealing policy proposals, compared with those who have some rapport with their current MP or focus more on the candidates they will vote for.
Meanwhile, in constituencies where the PAP will face the PSP, the ruling party appears to have taken a different strategy and introduced its candidates to the public.
In contrast, the PSP has not formally announced the candidates it will field to contest Chua Chu Kang and West Coast-Jurong West GRCs.
The PAP eked out its narrowest win in West Coast GRC at the 2020 General Election. The constituency has had its boundaries significantly redrawn since then into the new West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
National Development Minister Desmond Lee will lead the five-member team contesting the new GRC, the PAP announced on April 15.
This move could be a sign that the PAP is more confident in this area, and in other constituencies in which it has already shown its hand, said Dr Felix Tan, an independent political observer.
Outside of the parties with a parliamentary presence, it is “not only a crowded opposition scene, but more importantly, a fragmented one”, said SMU’s Prof Tan.
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There are several three-cornered fights on the cards, including in Ang Mo Kio GRC where both the PPP and SUP have made clear their intent, as well as in Sembawang GRC where the SDP and NSP have failed in talks.
Prof Tan believes that most of the apparent three-cornered fights would dissolve, with some being left as late as Nomination Day itself.
“In the past, when the opposition scene was not fragmented, horse-trading was not too challenging. But we now have too many political parties and voters often can’t differentiate between the smaller ones,” he said.
“As such, in the quest for symbolic relevance and the concern with not losing their election deposits, the smaller opposition parties are now confined to constituencies where the WP and PSP are not contesting,” said Prof Tan.
In general, the PAP has also announced its new candidates without making clear which of its MPs will step away – aside from a few exceptions like Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who said on April 18 that he will not stand for election this year.
This is even so where a new face has been confirmed to take over a sitting MP’s ward, as is the case for new face David Hoe in Dr Tan Wu Meng’s Clementi ward in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
Incumbent MPs such as Dr Tan and Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How have yet to confirm their next move, willing to say publicly onlythat they are stepping down from the constituency or that it is “up to the Prime Minister”.
Dr Felix Tan said this could be to give the PAP flexibility to put them into play in case of any last-minute changes.
Dr Teo suggested that not confirming retirements could be a move to keep the focus on the confirmed slates that have been announced.
Correction note: This story has been updated for accuracy.
- Ng Wei Kai is a journalist at The Straits Times, where he covers politics. He writesUnpacked, a weekly newsletteron Singapore politics and policy.
- Goh Yan Han is political correspondent at The Straits Times. She writesUnpacked, a weekly newsletteron Singapore politics and policy.
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