GE2025: Last-minute switches, surprises galore on Nomination Day

SINGAPORE: The race for the 2025 General Election kicked off in earnest on Wednesday (Apr 23), living up to its billing as one of Singapore’s most keenly contested elections after a Nomination Day chock-full of surprises. This was largely due to last-minute tactical manoeuvering by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). 

The PAP moved some of its big guns around while leaving the opposition parties guessing till the eleventh hour whether Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean would be fielded. In the end, both were not. 

The Workers’ Party also did the unexpected by moving former Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Member of Parliament Faisal Manap to lead its Tampines GRC team. Prominent new face Harpreet Singh was fielded in the new Punggol GRC, while the party turned to an old hand, former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, to lead its campaign in East Coast GRC. 

It also made a surprise move not to contest in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, handing PAP a walkover in the five-member GRC.

After the dust settled on an eventful and rainy Nomination Day, this was the picture that emerged:

• A total of 92 out of 97 seats will be contested
• There will be five multi-cornered fights, a high since GE1991 which had the same number of such contests
• Among these, four parties will slug it out in Tampines GRC – the last time there was a four-cornered fight in a GE was back in 1997
• There will be two independent candidates in Radin Mas Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Mountbatten SMC
• Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC was a walkover for PAP after a no-contest, the first in a GE since 2011

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng was the anchor minister for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC in the last GE and was expected to lead the PAP’s charge there again. Even he had expected to do so, until just hours before the nomination proceedings. 

Dr Tan told the media that he was informed on Wednesday morning that he would be redeployed in Chua Chu Kang GRC. Dr Tan replaced Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong who moved to Punggol GRC to fend off the WP challenge. 

Speaking to the media, DPM Gan said that “plans are always made depending on availability of candidates; we always need to make adjustments”.