GE2025: WP, PSP, SDP to unveil election strategies after boundary changes review
Opposition parties in Singapore have responded to the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s (EBRC) report released on Tuesday (11 March).
The responses were varied — the Workers’ Party (WP) remained coy while the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) expressed disappointment with the revised boundaries.
WP to reveal more information on potential candidates in due course
The WP issued a statement on its Facebook page on the same day the EBRC report was released.
In its brief statement, WP acknowledged the justifications for the redrawn boundaries, which included the population growth of certain electoral districts:
WP also pointed out that there were “significant changes to areas where WP has been working consistently for the last few years.”
As for its potential candidates and the constituencies that it will be contesting, the WP said more information will be shared in due course.
According to The Straits Times (ST), the WP has been actively engaging residents in at least eight constituencies, including Tampines GRC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
In the upcoming general election, three polling districts in Tampines West — with a total of 3,834 voters — will be transferred from the WP-held Aljunied GRC to the PAP-held Tampines GRC.
The latest boundary changes left Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC — both under WP — mostly unchanged.
PSP welcomes more reasoning behind boundary changes
In a separate statement, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) said it’s “heartened” that the EBRC had disclosed more of its reasoning behind its decisions, as compared to previous reports.
However, the party believed that the EBRC left much of its decision-making “unexplained” and suggested that the committee could have addressed population shifts without making significant changes to major electoral boundaries.
The PSP suggested that the development of the new Tengah estate drove population changes in Hong Kah North SMC, which could have been managed by merging it with Yuhua SMC and Bukit Batok SMC to create a new GRC.
Instead, the committee questioned why this was used as a reason to alter the electoral boundaries of:
- Jurong GRC
- West Coast GRC
- Chua Chu Kang GRC
- Tanjong Pagar GRC
- Radin Mas SMC
PSP said it will review the report and announce its contesting constituencies for the general election at a later date.
The party’s founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock, who plans to run in the next election, previously stated that the party anticipated changes to West Coast GRC’s boundaries before the polls.
However, he affirmed that PSP would contest the seat regardless.
SDP expressed disappointment at removal of SMCs
Meanwhile, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) expressed its disappointment over the removal of Yuhua and Bukit Batok SMCs.
“It seems coincidental that this happened so soon after the highly successful fundraisers for the SDP campaign in Bukit Batok,” it said in a statement to MS News.
In February, SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan signalled his intention to contest Bukit Batok SMC by sharing a video on his Facebook page about a fundraising dinner for the party’s campaign in the constituency.
SDP also said: “The whole process of redrawing electoral boundaries lacks transparency, done without open discussion among stakeholders. We have had to contend with this for the last few decades.”
The party reaffirmed its commitment to contesting the election with candidates dedicated to holding the Government accountable.
The SDP stated that it would thoroughly examine the changes and refine its plans accordingly.
“While municipal issues are important, Singaporeans everywhere are hurting from the pressures associated with the rising cost of living and the Government’s inability to take meaningful action beyond simply handing out vouchers periodically,” it added.
Also read: GE2025: New Punggol GRC carved out after seeing ‘largest increase’ in electors since GE2020
GE2025: New Punggol GRC carved out after seeing ‘largest increase’ in electors since GE2020
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Democratic Party on Facebook, Pritam Singh on Facebook, and Progress Singapore Party on Facebook.
