Latest news with #2025GeneralElection
CNA
4 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Two new town councils established in Jalan Kayu and Punggol
SINGAPORE: Two new town councils have been established in Jalan Kayu and Punggol following the conclusion of the 2025 General Election. This brings the total number of town councils to 19, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said in a press release on Friday (May 30). Twelve town councils have been reconstituted due to changes in electoral boundaries, which resulted in some areas being transferred between towns, MND added. Five remain unchanged. Under the Town Councils Act, elected MPs are to form a town for their own constituency or by grouping up to three constituencies together to form a town. Each town is to be managed by its own town council. The new Jalan Kayu Town Council will comprise the Single Member Constituency won by labour chief Ng Chee Meng. He will chair the council. Punggol Town Council also comprises only the Group Representation Constituency, which was won by a People's Action Party (PAP) team led by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong. Four town councils have been renamed. Jurong-Clementi Town Council is now known as Jurong-Clementi-Bukit Batok Town Council. Marine Parade Town Council has been renamed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Town Council. Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council will now be Pasir Ris-Changi Town Council, while West Coast Town Council is now West Coast-Jurong West Town Council. The remaining eight reconstituted town councils are Aljunied-Hougang, Ang Mo Kio, Chua Chu Kang, East Coast, Holland-Bukit Panjang, Jalan Besar, Tampines and Tanjong Pagar Town Councils, and their names are unchanged. Bishan-Toa Payoh, Marsiling-Yew Tee, Nee Soon, Sembawang and Sengkang Town Councils will continue with their names and town boundaries unchanged. Town councils have up to 90 days to complete the handover and takeover of the management of the areas to be transferred. This means the two new town councils and the 12 reconstituted town councils will take over the management of the transferred areas from Aug 1. Town councils can also mutually agree to complete the handover and takeover before Aug 1. They will have to inform residents of this date. "MND encourages all town councils to work together to ensure a smooth transition, so that the needs of residents can continue to be served," said the ministry.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GE2025: Overseas votes largely mirror local voting patterns; total voter turnout at 92.83%
SINGAPORE - The 2025 General Election had a turnout of 92.83 per cent after the addition of overseas voters, with 2,438,610 of 2,627,026 registered voters in contested constituencies casting their ballots. The ballots of more than 9,000 Singaporeans who voted overseas were counted on May 15, and the voting patterns were largely similar to how local citizens voted. In a statement on May 15, the Elections Department (ELD) said there were 17,237 registered overseas voters in all contested electoral divisions. Of these, 5,966 out of 8,091 registered overseas voters cast their ballots at 10 overseas polling stations. In addition, 7,808 out of 9,146 postal voters in all contested electoral divisions downloaded the postal ballots, of which of which 6,097 were received in Singapore by the deadline stipulated and 3,363 were accepted for counting Combined with local ballots, the overall number of rejected votes was 42,945. The results of the May 3 polls were already decided before the overseas votes were counted, as the margins of victory for all 32 constituencies were greater than the total number of overseas registered voters for each constituency. Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC went uncontested due to a walkover. Overseas voters had cast their ballots at overseas polling stations located at the Singapore Government's high commissions, embassies or consulates in Beijing, Canberra, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo and Washington. The overseas votes were counted at the ELD's multi-purpose hall in Novena Rise, where several candidates from GE2025 showed up to witness the counting. Overseas votes largely mirrored local votes, except Sembawang West SMC and Bukit Panjang SMC. In Sembawang West, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan received 23 overseas valid votes, with 21 votes going to PAP's Poh Li San. Ms Poh had prevailed at the polls with 53.18 per cent of the vote. PAP's Liang Eng Hwa and SDP's Paul Tambyah received 36 overseas votes each for the contest in Bukit Panjang, which Mr Liang won with 61.38 per cent of the vote. In Jalan Kayu SMC, PAP's Ng Chee Meng received 33 overseas votes, with WP's Andre Low getting 30 votes. Mr Ng, who is labour chief, won the single seat with 51.47 per cent of the vote. In Tampines GRC, which the PAP won with 52.02 per cent of the vote, 166 overseas voters chose the ruling party, with 153 voting for the WP. In Punggol GRC, which the PAP won with 55.17 per cent, 156 overseas voters chose the PAP and 126 opted for the WP. Associate Professor Eugene Tan, a political analyst and law don at the Singapore Management University, said the overseas vote results were 'broadly consistent' with those in past general elections. 'It reflects the trends in voting that overseas voters do not vote radically differently from local voters,' he added. 'Ultimately, the overseas votes made no difference.' The 2025 General Election saw the lowest voter turnout by percentage since 1968. On Polling Day, 92.47 per cent of registered voters cast their ballots in Singapore. Political observers said the likeliest explanation for the lower turnout was that Singaporeans had already made travel plans before the election was called, taking advantage of the May Day holiday that fell on a Thursday. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Straits Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
GE2025: Overseas votes largely mirror that of local votes, total voter turnout at 92.83%
The ballots of more than 9,000 Singaporeans who voted overseas were counted on May 15 for the general election. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI SINGAPORE - The 2025 General Election saw a turnout of 92.83 per cent - or 2,438,610 - of the 2,627,026 registered voters in contested constituencies casting their ballots, after the addition of overseas voters. The ballots of more than 9,000 Singaporeans who voted overseas were counted on May 15 for the general election, with overall voting patterns largely similar to local citizens' votes. In a statement on May 15, the Elections Department (ELD) said there were 17,237 registered overseas voters in all contested electoral divisions. Of these, 5,966 out of 8,091 registered overseas voters cast their ballots at 10 overseas polling stations. In addition , 3,363 of 6,097 postal ballots were received in Singapore by the deadline and accepted for counting. Overall, combined with local ballots, the number of rejected votes was 42,945. The results of the May 3 polls were already decided before the overseas votes were counted, as the margins of victory for all 32 constituencies were greater than the total number of overseas registered voters for each constituency. Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC went uncontested due to a walkover. Overseas voters cast their ballots at 10 overseas polling stations - located at the Singapore government's high commissions, embassies or consulates in Beijing, Canberra, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo and Washington. The overseas votes were counted at the ELD's multi-purpose hall in Novena Rise, where several candidates from GE2025 showed up to witness the counting. Overseas votes largely mirrored that of local votes, with the exception of Sembawang West SMC and Bukit Panjang SMC. In Sembawang West, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan received 23 overseas valid votes, with 21 votes going to PAP's Poh Li San. Ms Poh had prevailed at the polls with 53.18 per cent of the vote. PAP's Liang Eng Hwa and SDP's Paul Tambyah received 36 overseas votes each for the contest in Bukit Panjang, which Mr Liang won with 61.38 per cent of the vote. In Jalan Kayu SMC, PAP's Ng Chee Meng received 33 overseas votes, with WP's Andre Low getting 30 votes. Mr Ng, who is labour chief, won the single seat with 51.47 per cent of the vote. In Tampines GRC, which the won PAP with 52.02 per cent of the vote, 166 overseas voters chose the ruling party, with 153 voting for the WP. In Punggol GRC, which the PAP won with 55.17 per cent, 156 overseas voters chose the PAP with 126 opting for the WP. The 2025 General Election saw the lowest voter turnout by percentage since 1968. On Polling Day, 92.47 per cent of registered voters cast their ballots in Singapore. Political observers said the likeliest explanation for the lower turnout was that Singaporeans had already made travel plans before the election was called, taking advantage of the May Day holiday that fell on a Thursday. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
‘Natural that voters want it all': Why specific estate plans still mattered in GE2025
The results of GE2025 show that a considered town plan and municipal management chops have become baseline expectations for many voters here. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN News analysis 'Natural that voters want it all': Why specific estate plans still mattered in GE2025 SINGAPORE – More sheltered walkways and cleaner estates may appear as rather provincial concerns, but the results of the 2025 General Election show that a considered town plan and municipal management chops have become baseline expectations for many voters here. Much has been written about how the Singaporean voter has become more discerning in assessing the calibre, credibility and ground presence of candidates seeking election, but understated is his desire for his neighbourhood to continue being improved, with a well-run town council being a given. While the national swing towards the PAP can broadly be seen as an endorsement of its call to assemble a strong leadership team in the face of external challenges, analysts noted how the ruling party got down to brass tacks when it came to constituency-level report cards, in terms of specific projects delivered and those to come. Conversely, political parties that glossed over municipal plans or were perceived to have a credibility gap in carrying out said plans suffered at the polls. Associate Professor Walter Theseira noted that while all opposition candidates would claim the ability and willingness to confront the PAP in Parliament, the emphasis on town council matters during the campaign reminded the public to consider the credibility and quality of each candidate in delivering on the basics. 'It is natural that voters want it all: They want quality representation of their views in Parliament as well as effective ground management,' said the Singapore University of Social Sciences economist. He added: 'Town council management can't be separated from the overall quality of the candidate as well as the party backing them.' Contributing factor in SMC outcomes Singapore Management University (SMU) law don Eugene Tan said municipal issues will continue to feature at the local level of each general election, even if in the grander scheme they do not weigh as heavily on voters' decisions as other issues. This was why the PAP took pains during – and even before – the hustings to tell residents in the six new single-member constituencies created ahead of the election that their estates would continue to be well taken care of. For instance, under this group representation constituency-plus-one narrative, residents in Jalan Kayu SMC continue to be part of Ang Mo Kio's 'extended family' while those in Queenstown SMC are 'part of our team of brothers and sisters' in Tanjong Pagar GRC, according to PAP candidates. This narrative was most clearly articulated when Health Minister Ong Ye Kung urged voters to keep Ms Poh Li San part of the 'Sembawang family' by voting for her over Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan. During campaigning, Mr Ong – who anchors neighbouring Sembawang GRC – said Dr Chee did not want Sembawang West SMC to be part of the bigger Sembawang family, as this would be politically disadvantageous for Dr Chee. This came after Dr Chee criticised Mr Ong's plan to assign Woodlands Galaxy Community Club – which falls just outside Sembawang West's boundaries – to the new SMC. 'Better for him that Sembawang West, you become a lonely island, cut off from the rest of Sembawang Town,' Mr Ong said at a PAP rally. Ms Poh edged out Dr Chee with 53.19 per cent of the vote. Professor Tan said that having an SMC pegged to a GRC is meant to assure voters that estate management and improvement will be properly taken care of. This is a plus point but not a game changer, and the election results validated MPs who had walked and worked the ground over the past electoral cycle, he added. This was most evident in the new Queenstown and Jurong Central SMCs, where the vote shares of the two incumbent PAP MPs – Mr Eric Chua and Mr Xie Yao Quan repectively – exceeded 80 per cent, albeit against smaller opposition parties. Another example was the rematch in Bukit Panjang SMC, where PAP stalwart Liang Eng Hwa bettered his result compared with the close fight in 2020 when he first stepped into the single seat. Mr Liang took 61.41 per cent of the vote this round, against SDP chairman Paul Tambyah. Dr Tambyah said during the hustings that estate projects and services would continue even if SDP candidates prevailed over their PAP opponents. This drew a response from Mr Liang who said Dr Tambyah was 'naive' to think that constituency projects would continue on 'autopilot' under a new MP. This was as MPs play an important role in advocating for residents as well as working with the Government to bring needed projects to the constituency, he argued. Municipal record helped WP fend off jabs Meanwhile, the WP's ability to consolidate and improve its position this election suggests that voters agreed it was doing a good job in town council management, as well as politically, said Prof Theseira. The WP made sure to highlight its performance in recent town council report cards to tell voters it had overcome the difficulties it faced in Aljunied after 2011 – which resulted in long-running civil suits that were settled in 2024 – and that towns under its charge were as competently managed as those under the PAP. During the campaign, the WP's He Ting Ru had said Sengkang Town Council, which she chairs, achieved the top (green) banding for estate cleanliness in the Ministry of National Development's town council management report since the WP took over management of the town. A day later, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong remarked at a doorstop in the WP-held Aljunied that 'yes, all the markers are green, but some markers are greener than others'. In later rally speeches, the PAP took aim at the WP's estate management in Sengkang GRC, alleging that basic standards had slipped. Prof Theseira said the WP's vote share showed that it was able to shrug off the narrative that it was not able to competently and transparently manage town councils. Conversely, voters appeared to have penalised opposition parties that did not put enough emphasis on competent town management. PSP chief Leong Mun Wai, who was one of five candidates who lost in West Coast-Jurong West GRC, said the main role of an MP is to debate national policies and not be estate managers who are interested only in local issues. He was responding to a comment by his PAP opponent, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who said residents should ask contesting parties about their plans for the constituency. SMU's Prof Tan called the PSP's approach 'untenable' and that its lack of sensitivity to municipal concerns may have contributed to its poor showing. '(PSP) seemed to have ignored voters' concerns about estate management and improvement… For the voters, if the MPs are not going to take care of their estates, who will?' he asked. Mr Leong's PSP team lost to Mr Lee's PAP slate, which polled 60.01 per cent of the vote this round, up from 51.68 per cent in 2020. Ground knowledge may have also been why Mr Darryl Lo, an independent candidate and unknown before the election, managed to secure 23.47 per cent of the vote in Radin Mas SMC, compared with People's Alliance for Reform's Kumar Appavoo's 7.36 per cent. While it was Mr Kumar's fourth general election, Mr Lo grew up and lived in Radin Mas, and ran a campaign that had both policy ideas and estate-level suggestions, including cleanliness issues in the Bukit Purmei area and to have a dog run in the constituency. Mr Lo's vote share beat out the performance of many of the smaller opposition parties in single seats, and contributed to independent candidates turning in their best election results here in over five decades. 'One can read much into how voters preferred a young but well-qualified, on paper, candidate in Radin Mas to an opposition candidate who had contested the area multiple times prior,' said Prof Theseira. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
When it comes to voting for the opposition, Singaporeans want it slow and steady, and not suddenly
A total of 27 candidates from (clockwise, top left) the National Solidarity Party, People's Alliance for Reform, Singapore People's Party, Singapore United Party and People's Power Party polled below 12.5 per cent and lost $364,500 collectively in election deposits. ST PHOTOS: TAY HONG YI, TARYN NG, KUA CHEE SIONG, GAVIN FOO, AZMI ATHNI Commentary When it comes to voting for the opposition, Singaporeans want it slow and steady, and not suddenly SINGAPORE - There was surprise, anger and a lot of disappointment. Such was the despondent mood in the opposition camp on May 3 when the results of the 2025 General Election were released and the PAP romped home with a victory of 65.57 per cent of votes. That the smaller opposition players did not gain any ground is as much a given as the PAP forming the Government. But this time, the defeat was more abject, with a total of 27 candidates from the National Solidarity Party (NSP), People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), People's Power Party (PPP) and Singapore United Party polling below 12.5 per cent and losing $364,500 collectively in election deposits. Never has so much in deposits been forfeited in an election. Some like the PPP and NSP even managed to poll below 1 per cent of votes, granted it was from a four-cornered fight in Tampines GRC. Parties, people or pace? Interpreting the results, analysts have been almost unanimous in their assessment that the vote was a repudiation of the smaller 'mosquito parties', with their haphazardly put together motley crew of candidates, lack of groundwork, and unclear positions. To say that this has led to soul-searching, though, would be overstating it. Perhaps emotions are still too raw. A disgruntled opposition politician from one of the smaller, but older, parties told a colleague of mine that if it were up to him, he would change his party's logo to a black heart, reflecting how Singaporeans have been hard-hearted despite the sacrifices of him and his ilk. Another from a newer party ranted that his leaders' strong faith in the electorate had been misplaced, since voters care more about brand than beliefs. To them, the people are to blame. A look back at past election results will show that this has happened before. Perhaps not the losing of deposits – the last time the opposition camp polled so badly was in 1972 when 22 candidates got below 12.5 per cent of votes – but the swing away from the opposition. In 2015, opposition parties tried to build on the momentum of the 2011 election, where the WP took Aljunied GRC, the first group representation constituency won by any opposition party. When the results were released, the PAP had won with 69.86 per cent of votes, a 9 percentage point swing from the previous election. After that, the 2020 election saw the WP adding to its turf with a win in Sengkang GRC. Then, of course, we have this just concluded 2025 election. While each swing may seem like a big win or a big loss, and seen discretely it is, over a longer term it is perhaps more indicative of the pace of change Singaporeans are comfortable with, than their preference for particular parties or policies. Surveys, like those done by the Institute of Policy Studies after each election since 2006, have consistently shown the desire among voters for greater political diversity. What the election results show, in concert with this, is the desire to get there slowly, steadily, and not suddenly. A vote for progress For the longest time, the umbrella term of 'opposition' has been used to refer to the many different opposition parties and politicians collectively. But this has changed in recent times, with the standout performance of the WP since 2011. While in the past, votes for opposition parties were often regarded as a vote for the opposition cause, or protest votes against the PAP, increasingly, votes for opposition parties will become more intentional. This means opposition parties can no longer rely on the old formula of banking on antipathy towards the PAP. At best, as this election shows, the die-hard anti-PAP vote bank is shrinking from the estimated 20 per cent to 30 per cent of voters, to below 20 per cent. In constituencies like Tanjong Pagar GRC and Queenstown SMC, the PAR got 18.97 per cent and 18.88 per cent of votes, respectively. With a plethora of parties to choose from, voters are thinking harder about what ideology each party subscribes to, looking at their policy suggestions and sizing up their candidates. As seen in the WP's showing, which was markedly better than even its closest competitors the PSP and Singapore Democratic Party, voters clearly expect certain standards of opposition candidates and parties, even if they are prepared to lower these standards in comparison to the PAP. The WP's parliamentary profile aside, it has been consistently recruiting higher-calibre candidates each election and putting out well-researched election manifestos. In addition, it has continued to cultivate the ground, with party chief Pritam Singh saying a day after the election that work goes on. This makes some of the other opposition parties look opportunistic, when they appear with a haphazardly assembled motley crew right before hustings begin, rustle up last-minute manifestos and also skip on the groundwork in between elections. While voting is a private decision, withholding support to such parties can only be good for Singapore, and in the long run will help to develop more credible opposition parties that will not just bumble through election cycle to election cycle. The vote this time around, then, was also a vote for the kind of opposition politics Singaporeans want to perpetuate, and also the kind they want to do without, a necessary step on the road towards a two-party or multi-party democracy. As Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam famously said after the 2015 election, Singaporeans get the government they deserve. If I may add, also the opposition they deserve. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
