Chee Soon Juan says he’s ‘looking forward to the next GE campaign’

SINGAPORE — No one knows exactly when the next General Election will be, but opposition leader Chee Soon Juan appears to be getting ready for it. Dr Chee, who has served as Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party since 1993, has been very active at Bukit Baton SMC for several years.

On Christmas Eve, the SDP head wrote in a Facebook post that he had spent time at the Bukit Batok MRT station on Thursday (Dec 22) “for a bit of Christmas merry-making. Young and the young-at-heart came from all over the town to wish us well while we were furiously distributing little holiday treats and goodies,” he wrote.

He added that it’s “always good to be mingling with the residents there and looking forward to the next GE campaign.”

Since the most recent GE was held in July 2020, and the constitution says the next one must be called within three months after Parliament is dissolved, after a maximum term of five years from its first sitting, this would make it necessary to be called no later than Nov 23, 2025.

Dr Chee ended his post with holiday wishes. “In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! Enjoy your loved ones and have a great time.”

Dr Chee first contested at MacPherson SMC in 1997 and then at Jurong GRC in 2001. In 2011, he spearheaded an SDP slate to contest at Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, where it won 39.92 per cent of the vote, and again in 2015, along with now party chair Paul Tambyah.

In 2016, he contested in the Bukit Batok by-election, garnering 38.8 per cent of the total votes. And in the most recent GE in 2020, he again contested at Bukit Batok, winning 45.2 per cent of the votes cast. It was his best electoral result so far.  /TISG

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