Punggol or Tampines? Where the Workers’ Party could contest next

SINGAPORE: At Singapore’s upcoming General Election (GE), the Workers’ Party (WP) could contest in the newly created Punggol GRC as well as constituencies in longtime stomping ground Tampines, as part of a continued eastern and northeastern push, according to party insiders and analysts.

They pointed to the opposition party walking the ground in parts of those two areas for years, even before new electoral boundaries were announced on Mar 11. 

For Punggol, three-time GE candidate and former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Yee Jenn Jong could be part of the slate; along with Ms Frieda Chan, who was a WP candidate in the 2011 and 2015 polls, said a party source familiar with operations.

The new four-member Punggol GRC has absorbed Punggol West SMC, which WP contested in the previous election in 2020, as well as estates in Punggol under the now-defunct Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

This carving out of Punggol into a new group representation constituency was privately viewed as good news by WP members, according to the source, since party walkabout efforts thus far have largely excluded Pasir Ris areas.

CNA understands that both Tampines GRC and the newly formed Tampines Changkat SMC are also possible fresh targets for WP.

At GE2020, the party contested in Hougang and Punggol West SMCs and Sengkang, Aljunied, East Coast and Marine Parade GRCs.

CNA has reached out to WP for comment.

PUNGGOL POTENTIAL

From 2013 to 2015, WP’s Ms Lee Li Lian was MP for Punggol East SMC. She was edged out in the 2015 election by former ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) MP Charles Chong, who took 51.8 per cent of votes.

For GE2020, Punggol East SMC was folded into Sengkang GRC, which the WP won with 52.1 per cent of the vote.

That year, WP also fielded Ms Tan Chen Chen in Punggol West SMC, but she garnered only 39 per cent of the vote against PAP’s Sun Xueling.

WP’s electoral expansion plan is based on a “contiguous strategy” spreading out from its Aljunied-Hougang “nerve centre”, said Dr Mustafa Izzuddin from the Solaris Strategies consultancy, referring to constituencies the party has held since 2011 and 1991 respectively.

He believes Punggol will likely be the stage for a “Sengkang Part II” between WP and the PAP – and it’ll be another close fight due to the “unpredictability of younger voters who tend to be undecided until they cast their ballot on polling day”.