SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) has won at Aljunied GRC once again. WP secretary-general Pritam Singh, 48, and chair Sylvia Lim, 60, are returning to serve a fourth term, together with second-timer Gerald Giam, 47, and new MP-elect Fadli Fawzi, 40, who had previously been part of the WP slate at Marine Parade in 2020.
At Hougang GRC, which the WP has held since 1991, incumbent MP Dennis Tan, 55, also scored a victory against the PAP’s Marshall Lim.
In Aljunied, the WP bested the team from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), made up of Adrian Ang, 42; Faisal Abdul Aziz, 37; Chan Hui Yuh, 48; Daniel Liu, 40; and Jagathishwaran Rajo, 37. Among these candidates, only Ms Chan contested at Aljunied in 2020; the other four are new to the political arena.
In GE 2020, the WP won 59.95 per cent of the vote to the PAP’s 40.05 per cent, an increase of 8.99 per cent from GE 2015. This year, the opposition party again won 59.68 per cent of the vote.
Winning at Aljunied is significant for the WP, as it is the first GRC to be held by the opposition, marking a successful stronger foothold for the WP as spearheaded by former WP chief Low Thia Khiang. Mr Low had represented Hougang SMC from 2006 until 2011, and his gamble to contest at Aljunied paid off. While the WP’s path at Aljunied has been rocky at times, the party has appeared to have gained the trust of residents, and Aljunied Hougang Town Council has received the highest marks, as has Sengkang Town Council, the other GRC under the WP.
At Hougang, Mr Tan won 62.17 per cent of the vote. In 2020, the former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament had received 61.21 per cent, showing a small increase.
Although the PAP will continue to remain in power in the coming five years, this year’s General Election has largely been perceived to be a test of how much ground the opposition will gain. It has also been seen as a test for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who was sworn into office on May 15, 2024.
The increased cost of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world was widely reported to be the issue that was foremost in voters’ minds in the run-up to this year’s polls, and support for the opposition appeared to be on the rise, at least among commenters online.
Since the WP announced its candidates for the May 3 polls on Nomination Day, some armchair commentators questioned the party’s strategy of keeping its two highest-profile candidates at Aljunied GRC.
At a press conference to introduce the WP candidates on April 17, Mr Singh said the party would be contesting fewer than a third of the seats in Parliament this year, signalling that while the WP would naturally want more elected MPs, the party would proceed with more caution than risk. /TISG
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