PSP’s West Coast Team Will Be Offered 2 NCMP Seats, As They’re The ‘Best Losers’ In GE2020
Over 2.5 million Singaporeans cast their votes on Friday (10 Jul), choosing the leaders who will lead Singapore for the years ahead.
There were shock results, close fights, and of course, some pretty one-sided ones too.
In the process, 10 opposition candidates were elected as Members of Parliament (MPs), from Aljunied GRC, Sengkang GRC, and Hougang SMC.
That means 2 other opposition members, who are the ‘best losers’ of GE2020, will join them in Parliament as Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP).
While it has yet to be confirmed, the 2 NCMPs will likely come from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) team which contested West Coast GRC.
2 NCMP seats to be offered to PSP’s West Coast team
According to The Straits Times, 2 candidates from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP)’s West Coast team will be offered NCMP positions.
The PSP team, which garnered 48.31% of votes, lost to the incumbent People’s Action Party (PAP) team – which received 51.69% of the votes – by a razor-thin margin.
This makes the PSP’s West Coast GRC team the ‘best losers’ among all the opposition candidates in GE2020
The PSP team includes:
- Dr Tan Cheng Bock
- Mr Leong Mun Wai
- Ms Hazel Poa
- Mr Jeffrey Khoo
- Mr Nadarajah Loganathan
Dr Tan say he will not take up NCMP seat
However, the NCMP appointment is also subject to the candidates’ acceptance.
Coincidentally, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, who helms the team, has announced in the past that he would not take up the NCMP seat.
The 80-year-old repeated his stance during a press conference last night.
However, when asked if other members of his team would take up the seats, Dr Tan said that he will “leave the choice to the party”.
Should the PSP candidates take up the NCMP seats, other prominent opposition faces who did relatively well in GE2020 will miss out, including:
- Nicole Seah (Workers Party, East Coast GRC) — 46.59%
- Chee Soon Juan (Singapore Democratic Party, Bukit Batok SMC) — 45.2%
- Paul Tembayah (Singapore Democratic Party, Bukit Batok SMC) — 46.26%
Maximum of 12 NCMPs in Parliament
The Singapore constitution was changed in 2016 to allow for a maximum of 12 NCMPs in Parliament
This means that even if 0 opposition candidates were elected as MPs into Parliament, the 12 ‘best losers’ will be offered NCMP seats.
In the case of GE2020, since 10 opposition candidates have been elected as MPs, 2 opposition candidates who garnered the highest proportion of votes in their election division will be offered NCMP seats.
Who would you like to see take up NCMP seats?
As the dust settles in the aftermath of GE2020, it’s clear which are the MPs that will be representing Singaporeans in Parliament.
But as for which opposition candidates will take up the NCMP seats? We’ll have to wait just a bit longer.
Which of the opposition candidates would you like to see take up the NCMP seats? Share them in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.Â
