Reform Party Backs Out From 3-Way West Coast GRC Fight, After “Long Talks” With Dr Tan Cheng Bock
Last week, the Reform Party unveiled 7 candidates and the constituency that they planned on contesting for in the upcoming General Election (GE).
This sparked talks of a 3-way fight for West Coast GRC, between the People Action Party (PAP), The Reform Party (RP), and Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
Reform Party Announces 7 GE Candidates, May Clash With PSP For West Coast GRC
On Tuesday (23 Jun), RP announced the decision to back out from this contest in a Facebook post. You can read the full statement here.
This essentially leaves PSP – helmed by former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock against the People’s Action Party (PAP) for GE2020.
Reform Party backs out from West Coast GRC
Jurong GRC is familiar grounds for RP, having contested there in 2 previous elections.
In a Facebook post, however, RP’s Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam explains that in the spirit of “opposition unity”, there will be no 3-way fight there this GE as they back out from the contest.
This came after a discussion with Dr Tan Cheng Bock, leader of PSP. No specific details, however, was revealed from their negotiations.
Contesting in 3 other areas
With the change of plans, RP will be contesting in 3 constituencies:
- Ang Mo Kio GRC
- Yio Chu Kang SMC
- Radin Mas SMC
2 factors came into play when deciding on these areas. The first being concessions made for their fellow opposition party PSP, and the other on the “probability of winning” based on their familiarity with residents.
West Coast GRC showdown between PSP and PAP on the horizons
As RP withdraws from the potential 3-way fight at West Coast GRC, a possible 1v1 showdown between PSP and PAP is likely to happen.
Just this morning (24 Jun), it is revealed that Mr Lee Hsien Yang is joining Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s party this GE, though he might not be contesting for any seats.
Lee Hsien Yang Joins Tan Cheng Bock’s PSP, But May Not Run For Elections
With only 17 days before polling day, parties are actively campaigning on all fronts. We can expect an exciting GE2020 ahead.
Featured image adapted from Flickr.
