SINGAPORE: Nomination Day for this year’s polls has been particularly exciting, with a number of twists, turns, and surprises that appear to have caught many Singaporeans off guard.
For the first time since 2011, there has been a walkover, with the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) slate at the newly minted Marine Parade-Bradell Heights Group Representation Constituency (GRC) going uncontested. It had been previously thought that The Workers’ Party (WP) would field a team there, given that it had won 57.74% in the last election and that its members have been active on the ground for many years.
WP chief Pritam Singh explained why the party chose the “very difficult decision” not to contest: “to give our candidates the best chance of electoral success, the party must focus its best efforts this GE (General Election) on a smaller number of constituencies than we would have hoped to contest.”
The move of Manpower Minister Tan See Leng from Marine Parade to lead the PAP slate at Chua Chu Kang, as well as that of Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who had been at Chua Chu Kang since 2011, to East Coast GRC. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong was moved from Marine Parade GRC to anchor the PAP team at Jurong GRC, where he will be up against The Workers’ Party’s rising star Harpreet Singh, a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court.
Perhaps less surprising were the announcements from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean that they were stepping down, especially since the two men have served Singapore for many years now.
As for the opposition Workers’ Party, it showed a few strategic moves of its own, fielding Aljunied MP and party vice-chair Faisal Manap to lead the slate at Tampines GRC, where there will be a four-cornered fight as the National Solidarity Party and the People’s Power Party are also fielding candidates to challenge the incumbent PAP team.
“This morning’s developments have been wild. Truly jaw-dropping moves from all sides,” wrote a Reddit user.
Commenting on the last-minute candidates, another wrote, “If the political parties have to resort to swapping around chess pieces last minute to dodge or counter, they don’t deserve the votes of the people they are supposed to represent and fight for. This is not a game of cards, and the average person can see and know that the joker being swapped in has never been present in their GRC/SMC before.”
“I think we need to vote for the voice that can best represent the people in Parliament as well as the person who has been walking the ground and connecting with ordinary folk,” one wrote.
As for the walkover in Marine Parade-Bradell Heights, a Reddit user wrote that while they understood where the WP chief was coming from, he/she added, “I wish I had the chance to vote.”
Another appeared to feel the same way, writing, “This would’ve been my first time voting smh.”
“In hindsight, having multi-corner fights are better than walkovers,” chimed in another. /TISG
Read also: After 10 years, PAP wins a seat by walkover as WP declines to pursue Marine Parade
