GE2025: WP defends turf but gains no inroads, to be only opposition party in parliament

CNA

03-05-2025

SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party ended the 2025 polls as the only opposition party to be elected to parliament, having won 10 seats in total, though this likely comes as cold comfort to the party, which was eyeing 26 seats across eastern Singapore.
Once results were tallied, the party failed to make gains in any new constituencies, but entrenched its incumbent positions in Aljunied GRC, Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC.
Its winning margins increased in both Sengkang GRC – 56.31 per cent this year versus 52.13 per cent in 2020 – and Hougang SMC – 62.17 per cent this year versus 61.19 per cent in 2020 – while in Aljunied GRC its vote share of 59.68 per cent was just marginally lower than the 59.93 per cent it received in 2020.
The party will also be offered two non-constituency MP seats, having lost by the slimmest of margins in two constituencies – it garnered 48.53 per cent of votes in Jalan Kayu SMC and 47.37 per cent in Tampines GRC, which was a four-way race.
If there are fewer than 12 opposition candidates voted in after an election, the "best losers" from among the opposition candidates are offered seats as NCMPs, to guarantee a minimum number of opposition members in parliament.
Party chief Pritam Singh declined to speak to the media after the election results were announced, but each team of candidates took the stage at Serangoon Stadium to thank supporters and volunteers.
While thanking Aljunied GRC residents following the party's win, Mr Singh said: "It was always going to be a difficult election. The slate is wiped clean, we start work again tomorrow, and we go again.
"Your support has been so important in the mission of achieving and working towards a more balanced parliament – that work also continues."
He added that the WP's Aljunied GRC team will serve everyone equally, including those who had voted for the PAP.
THIN MARGINS
Jalan Kayu SMC, which was a showdown between WP's newcomer Andre Low and the People's Action Party's Ng Chee Meng, turned out to be the tightest contest of GE2025.
The 56-year-old Mr Ng, who was running in his third General Election, clinched 14,113 votes while Mr Low, a former lawyer, took 13,307 votes in the newly formed constituency.
In an address to WP supporters at Serangoon Stadium after the results were announced, Mr Low said that while the outcome was "not what we hoped for", he respected it as part of the "democratic process that is at the heart of our nation".
The race for Jalan Kayu had gained a lot of attention as it reignited a debate around Mr Ng's handling of the aborted deal between Income Insurance and German insurer Allianz. Mr Ng is secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which owns Income.
The contest grabbed headlines for a very different reason late into the hustings, when some of Mr Low's vulgarity-laden Telegram messages were leaked, which led to him issuing an apology.
The second-thinnest margin of the night was in Tampines GRC, despite it being a four-way race and the WP's first time contesting the constituency.
At the end of the night, the PAP team led by Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli came out victorious with 52.02 per cent of the vote, while WP achieved 47.37 per cent.
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) and People's Power Party (PPP), which also ran, earned only 0.43 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively.
Mr Faisal Manap, who led the WP's Tampines team, told supporters at Serangoon Stadium in Malay that their belief had helped his team to "compete with all their heart".
He thanked voters for all their support and their prayers throughout the campaign. He also conveyed his congratulations to the PAP team and said he hoped that its leader, Mr Masagos, who is also Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs, would become an even better MP going forward.
Mr Faisal's outing in Tampines GRC was a surprise – the former Aljunied GRC MP made it known only on Nomination Day that he was leading a five-member team to contest the constituency.
Some netizens quickly framed the contest as a showdown between two Malay-Muslim leaders, which Mr Faisal addressed by saying that he did not see himself as going up against Mr Masagos, but rather as being the minority candidate of the team.
Mr Singh also said that while Mr Faisal is a representative of the Malay-Muslim community, neither he nor any of the other WP candidates would represent only their communities.
The race for Tampines also drew much attention as the authorities warned about foreign interference in the election, following several Facebook posts that mixed religion and politics and called on Muslim voters to support Mr Faisal.
The WP spoke out against the interference after the authorities raised the issue, with Mr Singh saying the party cannot be a successful political party if it "plays the race and religion card".
PUNGGOL, TAMPINES CHANGKAT A "STEP FORWARD"
The newly formed Punggol GRC was another key battleground, with WP fielding a team led by its star candidate Harpreet Singh Nehal.
Through the course of the campaign, the opposition party had focused its attacks on its opponents, specifically Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.
At an Apr 28 rally, Mr Pritam Singh told voters in Punggol GRC to send "a strong message" to the PAP.
And again during WP's final rally on May 1, Mr Pritam Singh said that Mr Gan would not have been fielded in the new GRC if he was indispensable.
But the PAP team helmed by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong eventually won with 55.17 per cent of the vote.
Speaking to supporters at Serangoon Stadium after the results were announced, WP candidate Jackson Au said the results were not what they had hoped for, but his team would respect the voters' decision.
He added that while his team did not prevail at the ballot box, their commitment to the people of Singapore will not change.
"If anything, this result tells us that we will continue to speak up, to serve and to stand by all Singaporeans," said Mr Au, a first-time candidate. "This is not the end. This is just another step forward."
Over at Tampines Changkat SMC, WP candidate Kenneth Foo lost to PAP's Desmond Choo. Mr Foo garnered 43.83 per cent of the vote against Mr Choo's 56.17 per cent.
Addressing supporters at Serangoon Stadium, Mr Foo congratulated Mr Choo but promised to return for another fight.
"We'll continue to do the good work in Tampines Changkat SMC to make sure that one day the Workers' Party will win Tampines Changkat SMC," he said, to cheers from thousands of supporters.
SUPPORTERS DISAPPOINTED BUT HOPEFUL
WP supporters who gathered at Serangoon Stadium and at a coffee shop along 322 Hougang Avenue 5 – a gathering spot for the party's supporters at every election – had mixed reactions when they spoke to CNA.
First-time voter Kishan R, who stayed at Serangoon Stadium until the very end of the announcement of results, said he was disappointed that the WP had not gained more seats than it had at the 2020 election.
"But at the end of the day, I feel like … you can't really do much about it," said the 23-year-old full-time national serviceman. He felt that the WP had stood a good chance in Jalan Kayu SMC.
"He had so much going for him," said Mr Kishan, referring to Mr Low. But the Aljunied resident was thankful that the party retained Aljunied GRC, where he lives.
Like him, many other supporters were surprised by the results for Jalan Kayu SMC.
Jalan Kayu resident Jason Koh, 44, was disappointed as he thought Mr Low had a good chance of securing a seat in parliament, even though he is a rookie and his opponent Mr Ng was previously a Cabinet minister.
Ms Siti, 30, an educator, said that the close margins in the wards WP contested meant that the PAP could not be "complacent in the next few years".
"We've given them a good fight, and hopefully next election the WP will contest Jalan Kayu SMC and the other wards," said the Hougang SMC resident.
Accountant Muhammad, 36, who only goes by one name and is a long-time supporter of the WP, said that Jalan Kayu SMC was an upset but also expected.
"It's like David and Goliath – you have a big shot from PAP who is NTUC chief versus a pretty new guy from the WP," said Mr Muhammad as he watched the results at the coffee shop in Hougang.