SINGAPORE: Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chair Tan Cheng Bock, secretary-general Leong Mun Wai, and vice-chair Hazel Poa have reunited to contest West Coast-Jurong West Group Representation Constitueny (GRC), alongside two new faces.

The PSP team was successfully nominated on Wednesday (23 Apr) to contest the ward, which it nearly won in the 2020 general election, with 48.32% of the votes. The high vote share led to Ms Poa and Mr Leong joining Parliament under the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme.

The PSP team is set to face off against three incumbents and two new People’s Action Party (PAP) candidates. The anchor minister for the ruling party team is Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who will be accompanied by ex-West Coast MP Ang Wei Neng and former Jurong GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Shawn Huang.

This contest will likely be Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s last electoral race. The 85-year-old told the press earlier this week that if he is elected, he will serve as a mentor, guiding his young team to efficiently manage their constituency.

Speaking with CNA, Dr Tan said his team has planned for who will be in charge of specific matters, such as the town council, if they are elected. He also reiterated his desire to train and promote the younger generation of leaders within his party as best as possible.

When asked what had kept him going all this while, he told CNA, “I think it’s the love for the country.”

He added that looking back on his political career, he sees that it has been a fruitful one. He said, “For me, this is a rewarding journey. Every election brings me new things, new ways of managing affairs and engaging with the public, and meeting new faces. It is truly a very valuable experience.”

SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PSP) has won Marine Parade-Braddell Heights by walkover, after no opposition party contested the ward on Nomination Day (April 23). This marks the first time in 10 years that a ward has gone uncontested.

The last time the PAP won a constituency by walkover was in the 2011 general election, when Tanjong Pagar GRC was uncontested. Since then, in both the 2015 and 2020 general elections, all seats have been contested and all voters across Singapore were given a choice at the ballot box.

The walkover has been a huge surprise to opposition supporters, especially considering the Workers’ Party (WP) team that contested the ward garnered an impressive 42.26 per cent of the vote against the PAP’s 57.74 per cent in the COVID election.

Earlier, the party had said that it is looking to contest the wards it has consistently walked over the years – this presumably included Marine Parade, in the minds of observers and voters. Key party figures have also been vocal against walkovers – party chair Sylvia Lim said in the past that she joined the WP due to distress over the number of uncontested seats and walkover victories in the 2001 general election.

The WP has since said that it made the “very difficult decision” not to contest the redrawn Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC so as to focus its best efforts on a smaller number of constituencies.

Party chief Pritam Singh said on Facebook: “As a small opposition party, we are constantly faced with difficult choices about where and how best to deploy our limited resources, particularly after electoral boundaries are redrawn.

“After much reflection and careful consideration, we have determined that in order to continue fighting for the principles and changes we all believe in, and to give our candidates the best chance of electoral success, the party must focus its best efforts this GE on a smaller number of constituencies than we would have hoped to contest.”

The decision, however, has sparked criticism against Mr Singh’s strategy of avoiding negotiations with other political parties. Earlier this month, Mr Singh said that his party would not take part in discussions with other opposition parties to avoid multi-cornered contests.

He said, “Elections are an open system and multi-cornered battles are to be expected. Some political parties will negotiate to avoid multi-cornered battles, but the Workers’ Party will not participate.”

This position is consistent with the WP’s long-held practice of avoiding collaborating with other opposition parties. The party has typically been absent from past opposition unity meets and horse-trading talks ahead of previous polls.

Some observers, however, are asking if this strategy has set the opposition cause back. Had the WP been open to discussing its plans with the other political parties, would another party have stepped up to offer Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC voters a choice?

Ultimately, the losers of this decision have been the voters at Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC who will have to wait another five years to contribute to nation-building through their vote.