Singapore election 2025: PAP leads against SDP in sample count

Business Times

03-05-2025

[SINGAPORE] The People's Action Party's (PAP) candidate for Bukit Panjang SMC, Liang Eng Hwa, has secured 61.41 per cent of the votes for the single-seat ward – defeating the Singapore Democratic Party's (SDP) candidate and chairman, Paul Tambyah.
He ended up with 19,116 votes. Meanwhile, Dr Tambyah trailed with 12,015 votes, representing 38.59 per cent of the vote share, based on data released on Polling Day (May 3).
There was a total of 31,131 valid votes, while 350 votes were rejected.
Liang is a managing director at DBS, while Dr Tambyah is an infectious diseases expert at the National University Hospital.
Bukit Panjang SMC's boundaries remained unchanged from the 2020 General Election (GE). The straight fight for the constituency this year marked a rematch between Liang and Dr Tambyah.
The PAP's margin of victory widened from the last election, where Liang secured 53.73 per cent of the vote, against Dr Tambyah's 46.27 per cent. That remains the slimmest margin of victory recorded for the PAP in the single member constituency (SMC).
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
Though GE2025 is the second time they are fighting against each other in the Single-Member Constituency (SMC), they have also faced off elsewhere. In 2015, Dr Tambyah was fielded in SDP's Holland-Bukit Timah team, while Liang contested the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) on the PAP's side.
Dr Tambyah has said on the campaign trail that municipal projects and services would continue even if SDP candidates were elected over PAP ones. Singapore's civil service and government agencies are professional and apolitical, he said.
But how town councils are managed will change should the SDP win, he added, promising more regular engagements and wiser spending.
In response, Liang said that it was 'naive' to think that it did not matter who a constituency's Member of Parliament was. Estate projects do not get done on 'autopilot', he said, adding that improvements happen through MPs pushing for change and continually engaging stakeholders.
Prior to 2020, PAP and SDP had faced off in Bukit Panjang SMC in every GE since 1988 – which had a three-way fight – except for 1991 and 1997, as the constituency did not exist, and 2001, when Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC went uncontested.
Still waiting on final results
Meanwhile, in newly created Sembawang West SMC, PAP candidate Poh Li San is ahead with 53 per cent of the votes in the sample count, with SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan trailing with 47 per cent.
Although not final, the numbers are said to be fairly indicative of the possible outcome for a constituency; sample counts typically have a confidence level of 95 per cent, plus or minus four percentage points.
Before Sembawang West was carved out of Sembawang GRC ahead of the election, Poh looked after the ward.
SDP previously contested Sembawang GRC in 2011 and 2006, though that year Dr Chee was not eligible to contest due to his status as an undischarged bankrupt. After his return to politics, the party did not run in the GRC in 2015 and 2020.
During election hustings, Poh said that residents would be able to discern clearly between those who have 'done real work' in the SMC with commitment to stay, and those who 'just show up' shortly before the election.
Taking a jab at PAP MPs, many of whom also hold full-time jobs, Dr Chee responded that 'real work' can only be done by those who spend their working hours full-time in the estate and among residents.
SDP candidates would outdo the PAP in managing town councils and raising pertinent issues in Parliament if elected, as they would be full-time MPs, he said.
Noting the long waiting times at Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS), he said that he would try to shorten them. He also pledged to address residents' concerns – from healthcare costs to their children's education – at town hall meetings, if elected.
PAP's Poh acknowledged that MPS can take many hours. But she said that Dr Chee's speech reflected a 'fundamental mistake' of what these sessions are about. They are a 'safe, private space' for residents to share their challenges and seek help, and 'not a town hall for public political theatre', she said.
Note: As this is a sample count, the election result could be different. Counting is still in progress. The public should wait for the announcement of the election result by the returning officer, Han Kok Juan, which will be broadcast live on television.
For more election coverage, visit our GE2025 microsite