From West Coast GRC to Marymount SMC: 7 constituencies with the closest battles in GE2020
Singaporeans have a guaranteed General Election (GE) to look forward to in 2025.
With Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the helm for the first time, the stakes are high, especially given his party’s performance in GE2020.
While the People’s Action Party (PAP) secured a decisive supermajority, it got only 61.23% of the popular vote.
Source: Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook
This result was the third-worst since independence, behind GE2011 and GE1991.
Which electoral divisions saw the closest battles that led to the underperformance?
1. West Coast GRC sees closest margin in GE2020
West Coast GRC was the site of the narrowest electoral contest in GE2020.
The constituency was made up of Ayer-Rajah-Gek Poh, West Coast, Boon Lay, Nanyang and Telok Blangah wards.
The PAP won with just 51.69% of the vote share, compared with the Progress Singapore Party’s (PSP’s) 48.32%, a margin of just 3.37%.
Despite fielding two ministers in S. Iswaran and Desmond Lee, the PAP suffered a 26.88% drop in vote percentage from GE2015.
The popularity of PSP’s Dr Tan Cheng Bock in the west likely contributed to this close match.
He had previously served as a PAP MP for 26 years in Ayer Rajah SMC, which would end up merged into West Coast GRC.
Source: Dr Tan Cheng Bock on Facebook
The Reform Party also cancelled its plan to make it a three-way race as they believed Dr Tan’s PSP team stood a better chance.
As such, whether Dr Tan will contest West Coast GRC for GE2025 will have a major impact on the results.
In 2023, the current PSP Chairman said he would compete in the next GE, though it remains unconfirmed if he will contest in West Coast GRC again.
Another factor that could sway voters is the imprisonment of former transport minister Iswaran.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
In the recently released Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report, several estates in Jurong West and Taman Jurong were added to the GRC, which was renamed West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
Its easternmost polling districts were also absorbed by Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC.
2. Sengkang GRC makes history at GE2020
The newest electoral division on this list, Sengkang GRC, was newly created for GE2020. It comprises the wards of Anchorvale, Rivervale, Compassvale and Buangkok.
In a fierce contest, the Workers’ Party (WP) won with a close 52.13% vote share. It was the second-smallest winning margin in the entire election at 4.26%.
Sengkang thus became one of two GRCs won by opposition parties, alongside Aljunied.
It was also the first time an opposition party captured a new constituency on its first attempt.
WP’s Dr Jamus Lim, who only joined the party in 2019, proved to be very popular, contributing to their narrow victory.
Currently, the GRC has three MPs after Ms Raeesah Khan resigned for telling falsehoods in Parliament.
Though it caused a political stir, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that Sengkang residents it spoke to did not see the issue as a major concern.
Source: govsg on YouTube
Nonetheless, the PAP will be looking to take control of Sengkang GRC, which remained untouched in the EBRC’s 2025 report.
3. ‘Clash of Titans’ in East Coast GRC
East Coast GRC, comprised of Bedok, Siglap, Changi-Simei, Fengshan and Kampong Chai Chee wards, saw an extremely close battle just like its western counterpart.
The PAP won 53.41% of the votes, compared with the Worker’s Party’s 46.59%.
PAP’s candidates in this constituency included Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat, who moved from Tampines GRC.
Source: Heng Swee Keat on Facebook
However, Mr Heng encountered a hiccup after stumbling over the words in his “East Coast Plan” speech.
Additionally, WP fielded the popular Ms Nicole Seah as part of their team.
Her presence likely helped draw votes for her party and contributed to the close 6.82% vote margin against a big name in Mr Heng.
Ms Seah will be unable to utilise her popularity in this year’s elections, though, after resigning from WP on 18 July 2023 after her affair with then Aljunied MP Leon Perera was uncovered.
Even so, East Coast GRC remains one to look out for in the upcoming GE.
The GRC has shrunk in size, with large areas taken over by the new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
However, it also absorbed Marine Parade GRC’s Chai Chee HDB estate and Joo Chiat private estate, causing a growth in population of around 40,000 electors.
4. Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok & Marymount SMCs
Taking a break from the more populous GRCs, three SMCs had close contests that resulted in PAP victories.
Bukit Panjang SMC saw PAP’s Mr Liang Eng Hwa face Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Chairman Paul Tambyah.
The previous three elections there concluded with clear PAP victories by Dr Teo Ho Pin, who retired in 2020.
As such, experts predicted a close fight, which proved true when Mr Liang won with 53.74% of the vote, a decrease of 14.64% from the previous election.
Image by MS News
Bukit Panjang SMC will remain untouched for GE2025.
In Bukit Batok SMC, SDP’s Dr Chee Soon Juan ran against PAP’s Mr Murali Pillai again, having previously lost to him with 38.79% of the votes in the 2016 by-election.
This time, he performed better, earning 45.20% of the vote share for a competitive loss.
Source: Chee Soon Juan on Facebook
However, Bukit Batok SMC will be absorbed into the new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC in GE2025, a move slammed by Dr Chee.
At Marymount SMC, newly created in 2020, former brigadier-general Gan Siow Huang battled against former colonel Ang Yong Guan.
Ms Gan defeated the PSP candidate with 55.04% of the vote — a margin of 10.08%.
Marymount SMC was left untouched in the latest EBRC report.
5. First Marine Parade election without Goh Chok Tong in 44 years
In GE2011, the PAP faced a National Solidarity Party team including Ms Seah in Marine Parade GRC.
The result was a competitive 56.65% victory for the PAP.
Although 2015 saw a clearer win for the ruling party, many expected a closer race in GE2020 due to the retirement of former PM Goh Chok Tong.
Mr Goh represented the then Marine Parade SMC from 1976 to 1988 till it became part of Marine Parade GRC.
Source: MParader on Facebook
He continued serving as MP in the GRC until his retirement from politics in 2020.
As such, the PAP’s team lost a 44-year political mainstay in the community.
Source: MParader on Facebook
Despite Mr Goh’s absence, the incumbent PAP triumphed in GE2020 with a 57.76% vote share in Marine Parade GRC, a decrease of 6.31% compared with the previous election.
While not as close a match as the others on this list, a potential factor for the GRC in this year’s election lies in the absence of one of its MPs — Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, who served as the Speaker of Parliament from 2017 to 2023.
On April 2023, he muttered “f**king populist” in Parliament after a speech by Sengkang MP Jamus Lim.
Mr Tan apologised on 11 July, but then resigned just six days later over an “inappropriate relationship” with Tampines MP Cheng Li Hui.
Despite his misdeeds, CNA reported that Mr Tan was popular among Marine Parade residents.
Source: Facebook
While voters might consider factors such as the rising cost of living more important than Mr Tan’s absence, the loss of such a well-liked MP could give the opposition a better shot.
For the upcoming election, Marine Parade lost estates to East Coast GRC but absorbed districts from various other constituencies to become Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
Stakes are high in upcoming 2025 elections
The Government accepted the EBRC’s recommendations on 11 March, the same day it was released.
During a speech last November, PM Wong said the next election was high-stakes and acknowledged the possibility of losing a few GRCs.
Only time — and Singaporeans’ votes — will tell whether more opposition upsets are on the cards, or whether the PAP will manage to consolidate power after 2020’s below-average performance.
Also read: MS Explains: What 1st time voters should look out for from now till Polling Day
MS Explains: What 1st time voters should look out for from now till Polling Day on 3 May
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Featured image adapted from Heng Swee Keat on Facebook and Dr Tan Cheng Bock on Facebook.
