SINGAPORE: The race for the 2025 General Election kicked off in earnest on Wednesday (Apr 23), living up to its billing as one of Singapore’s most keenly contested elections after a Nomination Day chock-full of surprises. This was largely due to last-minute tactical manoeuvering by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). 

The PAP moved some of its big guns around while leaving the opposition parties guessing till the eleventh hour whether Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean would be fielded. In the end, both were not. 

The Workers’ Party also did the unexpected by moving former Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Member of Parliament Faisal Manap to lead its Tampines GRC team. Prominent new face Harpreet Singh was fielded in the new Punggol GRC, while the party turned to an old hand, former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, to lead its campaign in East Coast GRC.  It also made a surprise move not to contest in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, handing PAP a walkover in the five-member GRC.

After the dust settled on an eventful and rainy Nomination Day, this was the picture that emerged:

• A total of 92 out of 97 seats will be contested
• There will be five multi-cornered fights, a high since GE1991 which had the same number of such contests
• Among these, four parties will slug it out in Tampines GRC - the last time there was a four-cornered fight in a GE was back in 1997
• There will be two independent candidates in Radin Mas Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Mountbatten SMC. 
• Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC was a walkover for PAP after a no-contest, the first in a GE since 2011.

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng was the anchor minister for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC in the last GE and was expected to lead the PAP’s charge there again. Even he had expected to do so, until just hours before the nomination proceedings. 

Dr Tan told the media that he was informed on Wednesday morning that he would be redeployed in Chua Chu Kang GRC. Dr Tan replaced Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong who moved to Punggol GRC to fend off the WP challenge. 

Speaking to the media, DPM Gan said that “plans are always made depending on availability of candidates; we always need to make adjustments”.

WP EXPLAINS NO-SHOW IN MARINE PARADE-BRADDELL HEIGHTS GRC

Soon after a walkover was declared in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, WP put up on Facebook a statement by party chief Pritam Singh on the “very difficult decision” not to contest there. 

In the last GE in 2020, a WP team led by Mr Yee contested what was then Marine Parade GRC, garnering 42.26 per cent of the vote against PAP's 57.74 per cent.

Referring to the redrawn electoral boundaries for the GRC that saw the absorption of Macpherson SMC and other changes, Mr Singh said: "As a small opposition party, we are constantly faced with difficult choices about where and how best to deploy our limited resources, particularly after electoral boundaries are redrawn.

"After much reflection and careful consideration, we have determined that in order to continue fighting for the principles and changes we all believe in, and to give our candidates the best chance of electoral success, the party must focus its best efforts this GE on a smaller number of constituencies than we would have hoped to contest."

Speaking to reporters later, the WP chief was asked whether the decision was a miscalculation given that it gave the PAP a walkover.

In response, Mr Singh said: “I'm sure the PAP was watching who was going to Marine Parade as well, so these decisions also were taken, as you would have realised, over the hour between nomination opening and nomination closing.”

He added: “So, it's not a case as if everyone knew in advance that the PAP would field … I'm not going to say it's a weakened slate because there are no such thing as weak candidates in my view.

"It’s going to be a very tough election for us. I'm sure they were watching where we were going, but this is what we've decided to do.”

WHERE THE MULTI-CORNERED FIGHTS ARE

In contrast to the walkover in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, five other constituencies will be intensely fought by more than two parties.

Tampines GRC will be the battleground of a four-way contest among PAP, WP, People’s Power Party and National Solidarity Party (NSP).

Over in Sembawang GRC, PAP will be in a three-way tussle with NSP and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), while in Ang Mo Kio GRC, PAP will face off against PPP and Singapore United Party.

Two single-seat wards will also see three-way fights: Potong Pasir and Radin Mas.

In Potong Pasir, PAP’s Alex Yeo will be up against PAR chief Lim Tean and SPP’s Williiamson Lee.

The Radin Mas contest will feature independent candidate Darryl Lo against PAP’s Melvin Yong and the People’s Alliance for Reform’s Kumar Appavoo.

Mr Lo is one of two independent candidates who have tossed their names in the hat this General Election. The other is Mr Jeremy Tan, who will mount a challenge against PAP candidate Gho Sze Kee in Mountbatten.

With their successful nominations, all parties and candidates now enter the official campaign period, which will last for nine days.