SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) has responded to the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report, noting “significant changes” in the wards it has been active in. While the party did not reveal the names or number of constituencies it plans to contest in the impending election, it said that it will release further details in due course.
In a statement issued today, WP acknowledged that the report provides brief justifications for the redrawing of electoral boundaries, particularly citing population growth in certain areas as a key factor and stressed the importance of electoral boundary confirmation in the lead-up to the next election.
The party said that there have been significant changes in constituencies where it has been actively working over the past few years but did not specify which areas were most affected or whether these changes could have implications for its election strategy.
In the 2020 general election, the WP contested six constituencies: Aljunied GRC, Sengkang GRC, East Coast GRC, Marine Parade GRC, Hougang SMC, and Punggol West SMC. The party secured victories in Aljunied GRC, Sengkang GRC, and Hougang SMC.
According to the EBRC report, Aljunied GRC—held by the WP since 2011—will undergo a boundary change for the first time in over a decade. Three polling districts in Tampines West, comprising 3,834 voters, will be transferred from Aljunied GRC to the People’s Action Party-held Tampines GRC. However, Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC will remain unchanged.
Significant modifications will affect three of the other constituencies that the WP contested in 2020.
Punggol West SMC has been erased from the electoral map and will be absorbed into the newly created Punggol GRC. Meanwhile, East Coast GRC, where the WP secured 46.59% of votes in its closest defeat, will expand to include Chai Chee HDB estates and Siglap private estates from Marine Parade GRC.
Marine Parade GRC will also see substantial boundary adjustments. It will take in parts of Potong Pasir SMC, due to high population growth from new public housing developments in Bidadari. Additionally, it will absorb MacPherson SMC and an adjacent polling district from Mountbatten SMC, maintaining its five-member constituency status.