[SINGAPORE] Both Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leaders failed in their bids to win seats even though the party had a mixed showing in this year’s general election (GE) – secretary-general Chee Soon Juan had an improved vote share at the polls even as he contested in a new Single-Member Constituency (SMC), while chairman Paul Tambyah lost ground.
Dr Chee went up against People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate Poh Li San in newly created Sembawang West SMC, and lost. Poh garnered 11,978 votes, or 53.19 per cent of the valid votes, while Dr Chee trailed with 10,541 votes, or 46.81 per cent.
A total of 22,519 valid votes were cast, while 269 votes were rejected.
Before Sembawang West was carved out of Sembawang GRC in the latest review of electoral boundaries, Poh looked after the ward. In GE2020, the PAP won the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) with 67.29 per cent of the votes, against a team from the National Solidarity Party.
The SDP previously contested Sembawang GRC in 2006 and 2011, when Dr Chee was not eligible to contest due to his undischarged bankruptcy. After his return to politics, the party did not contest the GRC in 2015 and 2020.
In GE2020, Dr Chee contested Bukit Batok SMC, garnering 45.20 per cent of the votes and losing to PAP’s Murali Pillai. The single seat has since been absorbed into the new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
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While Dr Chee failed to take the Sembawang West SMC seat, his 46.81 per cent vote share was among the highest of the losing parties’ candidates, just behind those of the opposition candidates in Jalan Kayu SMC and Tampines GRC.
In this election, 10 opposition candidates were victorious in their GRCs. Under the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme, if fewer than 12 opposition candidates are elected at a GE, the “best losers” from among them will be declared as NCMPs to bring the total number of opposition MPs to 12.
This means that Dr Chee narrowly missed out on an NCMP seat.
The SDP peaked at three parliamentary seats following the 1991 election, and has not held any seats since 1997. Before this GE, 2020 was the closest that it managed to a return to the political stage, as Dr Tambyah’s and Dr Chee’s vote shares crept above 45 per cent.
Losing steam in Bukit Panjang
Meanwhile, PAP candidate for Bukit Panjang SMC Liang Eng Hwa secured 61.41 per cent of the votes for the single-seat ward – defeating SDP’s Dr Tambyah by a larger margin than in their previous face-off.
Liang ended up with 19,116 votes. Dr Tambyah garnered 12,015 votes, representing 38.59 per cent of the vote share.
There were a total of 31,131 valid votes, while 350 votes were rejected.
Liang is a managing director at DBS, while Dr Tambyah is an infectious diseases expert at the National University Hospital.
Bukit Panjang SMC’s boundaries remained unchanged from the election in 2020. The straight fight for the constituency this year marked a rematch between Liang and Dr Tambyah.
PAP’s margin of victory widened from the last election, when Liang secured 53.73 per cent of the votes, against Dr Tambyah’s 46.27 per cent. That remains the slimmest margin of victory recorded for the PAP in the SMC. Dr Tambyah’s profile rose significantly then, on the back of the Covid-19 crisis.
Though GE2025 is the second time they are fighting against each other in Bukit Panjang SMC, they have also faced off elsewhere. In 2015, Dr Tambyah was fielded in SDP’s Holland-Bukit Timah team, while Liang contested the GRC on the PAP’s side.
The mixed results came as the SDP was embroiled in controversy after Marsiling-Yew Tee candidate Gigene Wong went off script to refer to teammate Ariffin Sha by a racial slur and mispronounced his name as “elephant”.
She and Dr Chee apologised in later speeches. Dr Wong did not speak at any subsequent rallies.
On the campaign trail, both Dr Tambyah and Dr Chee had called for more opposition voices in Parliament, which they said would improve the PAP’s governance. The SDP envisions a Singapore “where everyone can thrive”, with policies from healthcare to education.
PAP had criticised their policies and said they were “mere populist calls” to win seats in Parliament.
The SDP leaders also promised to make improvements on a municipal level, with more regular engagements and wise spending. In response, their opponents questioned their understanding of the roles of Members of Parliament.
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