The Workers’ Party (WP) appears to have released an online form, calling on volunteers to sign up to help the party during the next General Election. Many expect that the election may be held as early as this year.
The form suggests that WP – the only opposition party that presently has seats in Parliament – is seeking to recruit volunteers to aid the 10 day campaign period, in the following areas: House visits, flyer distribution, putting up posters and banners, driving of vehicles, photography, videography, editorial, graphic and web design, rally logistics and serving as polling agents.
As he met WP members at an internal forum earlier, WP secretary-general Pritam Singh said that his party aims to capture one-third of the seats in Parliament. He said:
“One question that regularly popped up amongst members was the Party’s vision going forward. The Workers’ Party may be 62 years old this year, but we won our first GRC only 8 years ago, and held on to it by a razor-thin majority in the 2015 General Elections. Let us never forget that we only have a toe-hold in Parliament when we consider the margin of the result in Aljunied.
“The risk of a wipe-out with no elected opposition represented by the Workers’ Party is a real one. So where do we go from here?
“As a medium term objective, the Workers’ Party should aim to contest and win 1/3 of the seats in Parliament. I say 1/3 in the medium-term because of the past experience of the Workers’ Party in attracting suitable and qualified candidates who are willing to stand in general elections. For a small party like ours, it is a high bar.”
He added that his party is “only a tool to effect political change” and that the agents of change are the voters themselves:
“Never forget that the playing field between the PAP and opposition will continue to be uneven given the PAP’s determination to maintain its dominance through its control of grassroots organisations. This includes its ability to make changes to the Constitution, the highest law of the land, through its near absolute control of Parliament.
“But let us be clear. The Workers’ Party or any political party is only a tool to effect political change. It is the voting public who must decide whether they want a representative and balanced Parliament to prevent ‘ownself check ownself’.”
The WP’s latest recruitment drive comes on the heels of the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) recent call for volunteers at its pre-election events. The opposition party held a campaign kick-off in February and invited Singaporeans to join the SDP to “build a brighter, more hopeful tomorrow.”
In March, the SDP organised a major policy launch and unveiled its Cost of Living Policy, that it promised to implement if it is elected into Parliament.
Touting the launch as “the first of a series of policies that the Party will launch and/or update in the coming months as we endeavour to be a responsible and constructive opposition party,” SDP said that the policy launches will culminate with the release of its manifesto.
/TISG