GE2025: WP retains strongholds in Aljunied and Hougang despite national swing to PAP

Straits Times

03-05-2025

The WP's Aljunied GRC candidates (from left) Kenneth Tiong, Fadli Fawzi, Pritam Singh, Gerald Giam and Sylvia Lim on May 4. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
GE2025: WP retains strongholds in Aljunied and Hougang despite national swing to PAP
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SINGAPORE – The WP retained its traditional strongholds of Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC with little drama, returning its core leaders secretary-general Pritam Singh and chair Sylvia Lim to Parliament.
Despite a national swing towards the ruling party, the WP five-member team in Aljunied GRC maintained its hold over its PAP challengers to take the constituency with 59.68 per cent of the votes, to the PAP's 40.32 per cent.
This is in line with its previous showing during the Covid-19 polls in 2020, when it won the five seats with 59.93 per cent of the votes.
WP candidate Dennis Tan, 54, was also re-elected for his second consecutive term in WP's storied home base, Hougang SMC – a seat the party has held since 1991.
He was the rare opposition MP to buck the national trend and improve his winning margin. His 62.17 per cent is a 1 percentage point increase from his 2020 victory of 61.19 per cent.
His rival, PAP newcomer Marshall Lim, 38, secured 37.83 per cent of the vote.
The elected Aljunied GRC MPs are Leader of the Opposition Mr Singh, 48; Ms Lim, 60; Mr Gerald Giam, 47; Mr Fadli Fawzi, 44 – who had contested Marine Parade GRC in 2020 – and newcomer Kenneth Tiong, 36.
The losing PAP slate was led by second-time Aljunied GRC candidate Chan Hui Yuh, 48, and included four PAP new faces. They are Mr Faisal Abdul Aziz, 37; Mr Adrian Ang, 42; Mr Jagathishwaran Rajo; 37, and Mr Daniel Liu, 40.
Mr Singh thanked supporters at Serangoon Stadium, saying: 'Your support has been so important in the mission of achieving and working towards a more balanced Parliament. That work also continues.
'As the team committed to you, we serve everyone equally. I look forward to working with you to make Aljunied our best home yet.'
Speaking to The Straits Times after the sample count for Aljunied GRC was announced at 10pm, the PAP's Mr Liu said at Bedok Stadium that he was proud of his team.
He said: 'The five of us have never been parliamentarians. It's a big accomplishment for us.'
PAP team lead Ms Chan said in her concession speech: 'This past campaign has been amazing – blood, sweat and tears from all of us. It was not easy, but we persevered. We went with our eyes open, and we did our best with no regrets.'
The WP had wrenched Aljunied GRC from the PAP in 2011, making history by becoming the first opposition party to win a GRC since the system was introduced in 1988.
During hustings, it focused its campaign mostly on party-wide, national issues.
A constant refrain was the need for a more balanced political system with credible opposition, with it having proven its mettle in both parliamentary and municipal issues.
Mr Singh's conviction earlier in 2025 over lying to a parliamentary committee under oath went largely unmentioned, except by the PAP's Ms Chan at her team's final rally on May 1. Mr Singh has said he would be appealing against the verdict.
With the PAP moving Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong to Punggol GRC, WP's Ms Lim also sought to use the party's 2011 victory over the PAP team in Aljunied GRC as a precedent for how losing PAP ministers need not be exaggerated.
Then, the PAP team included two ministers, George Yeo and Lim Hwee Hua.
Ms Lim had said: 'Since the PAP lost, has Singapore been weakened? Life goes on and guess what? One of the Workers' Party's unknowns is now the Leader of the Opposition.'
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean accompanied the PAP Aljunied GRC slate on its walkabouts, though overturning WP's hold on the constituency ultimately proved too much of an ask.
Members of the PAP Aljunied GRC team had brushed aside questions of it being without an anchor minister and being a 'suicide squad'.
They argued this allowed them more time to walk the ground, and they were focused on serving residents.
As for Hougang SMC, the WP has frequently cited it as one of the finest examples of voters' resistance to PAP's former policy of upgrading opposition wards last, proving that voters cannot be bought.
The party also produced Hougang The Documentary, released in November 2024, which charted how former WP chief Low Thia Khiang – who spoke fluent Teochew – convinced voters to take a chance on the WP.
The WP's Mr Tan was mostly content to allow his party's leadership and newer candidates to take the limelight during hustings, but said during WP's May 1 rally that Hougang must remain a beacon of democracy in Singapore.
Mr Michael Lai, 75, who was among those celebrating the WP's victory at Serangoon Stadium, said he had hoped for a lower vote share for the ruling PAP.
The director of an engineering company said the WP MPs had fulfilled their duties well.
He said: 'They've argued against the GST (goods and services tax) and COE (certicate of entitlement) increase in Parliament. The estate is also clean and well maintained.'
Businessman Joel Tan, 34, said he took issue with Mr Lim's comments about himself being a fighter and that Hougang did not belong to the WP.
Said Mr Tan: 'I didn't really like his attitude when he spoke about Hougang. It's a stronghold, so I expected 68 per cent for the WP.'
There were 144,298 voters in Aljunied GRC and 29,464 voters in Hougang SMC in 2025.
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