Punggol East Single Member Constituency
| Punggol East | |
|---|---|
| Single Member constituency for the Parliament of Singapore | |
 | |
| Region | Northeastern Singapore |
| Electorate | 34,466 |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2011 |
| Member(s) | Charles Chong |
| Town Council | Pasir Ris-Punggol |
- Not to be confused with the pre-independence era ward in Punggol and Hougang areas called the Punggol Member Constituency which was formed prior to 1959 general elections by carving out a portion of the then-defunct Punggol-Tampines SMC, which lasted until prior to 1991 general elections when that ward was absorbed into the then defunct Cheng San GRC.
Punggol East Single Member Constituency (Chinese: 榜鹅东单选区; Malay: Kawasan Undi Perseorangan Punggol East; Tamil: பொங்கோல் ஈஸ்ட் தனித்தொகுதி) is a Single Member Constituency located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. Despite its name, the ward does not cover the town of Punggol but rather its boundaries span the neighbourhood of Rivervale, the eastern area of Sengkang. This ward has been carved out during the 2011's General Election and was formerly a ward from the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
On 12 December 2012, then MP for Punggol East SMC, Michael Palmer resigned after an extramarital affair was revealed.[1] A by-election was held on 26 January 2013, and Lee Li Lian of the Workers' Party was elected as MP.[2]
During the 2015 general elections, PAP's Charles Chong won in Punggol East SMC, replacing Lee Li Lian as MP for the constituency.[3]
2011 general election
In the 2011 general elections, the constituency saw a 3-cornered contest, the only such in the election; this phenomenon was last seen in the 2001 general elections in the then Bukit Timah SMC. Desmond Lim of the Singapore Democratic Alliance secured a mere 4.45% of the votes in Punggol East SMC, against PAP's Michael Palmer and Workers' Party's Lee Li Lian. This is the lowest percentage of votes a candidate has garnered in the 2011's General Election. As a result, he was the only candidate of the island-wide election to have his election deposit forfeited.
2013 by-election contest
On 10 January 2013, PAP unveiled their candidate for the by-election: Dr Koh Poh Koon, a 40-year-old colorectal surgeon from Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. Opposition party Workers' Party nominated Lee Li Lian to contest. She previously contested in 2011's General Election where she garnered 41% of eligible votes, losing to Palmer in that year. Singapore Democratic Alliance fielded Desmond Lim Bak Chuan as its candidate; he also contested in 2011's General Election, and was the only candidate to have lost his deposit of SGD$16,000 during that election, having garnered only 4.5% of the votes. Kenneth Jeyaretnam from Reform Party was the last to be fielded in. The Singapore Democratic Party originally wanted to stand but pulled out on the eve of Nomination Day.
There were 2 rounds of rallies in this by-election, Workers' Party's rally drew the most audiences amounting to over 5,000 and 12,000 audiences, with Singapore Democratic Alliance using the social media and technology to draw audiences via a series of videos posted to YouTube.
During the vote counting, Desmond Lim from Singapore Democratic Alliance officially conceded defeat.[4]
Reform Party's Kenneth Jeyaretnam and Singapore Democratic Alliance's Desmond Lim Bak Chuan both lost their election deposit in this by-election. Lim was the only 1 candidate to date whom as lost his deposit twice.
Lee Li Lian of the Workers' Party, won the by-election with 16,045 votes, with 54.50% of valid votes. She sworn in at the Parliament on 4 February 2013, and held her Meet-The-People session on the same day.[5]
Members of Parliament
| Member of Parliament | Party | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Palmer | bgcolor=Template:People's Action Party/meta/color | | PAP | 2011–2012 | Resigned after an extramarital affair came to light, precipitating the Punggol-East by-election |
| Lee Li Lian | WP | 2013–2015 | ||
| Charles Chong | bgcolor=Template:People's Action Party/meta/color | | PAP | 2015– | Incumbent |
Candidates and results
Elections in 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Charles Chong | 16,957 | 51.76 | +8.03 | |
| WP | Lee Li Lian | 15,801 | 48.24 | -6.26 | |
| Majority | 1,156 | 3.52 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 379 | 1.14 | -0.26 | ||
| Turnout | 33,137 | 96.14 | +1.83 | ||
| Registered electors | 34,466 | ||||
| PAP gain from WP | Swing | +6.83 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WP | Lee Li Lian | 16,045 | 54.50 | +13.49 | |
| PAP | Koh Poh Koon | 12,875 | 43.73 | -10.81 | |
| RP | Kenneth Jeyaretnam (Loses deposit) | 353 | 1.20 | N/A | |
| SDA | Desmond Lim Bak Chuan (Loses deposit) | 168 | 0.57 | -3.88 | |
| Margin of victory | 3,170 | 10.77 | -2.76 | ||
| Rejected ballots | 418 | 1.40 | -0.3 | ||
| Turnout | 29,859 | 94.31 | -0.99 | ||
| Registered electors | 31,659 | -4.9% | |||
| WP gain from PAP | Swing | +12.15 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Michael Palmer | 16,994 | 54.54 | N/A | |
| WP | Lee Li Lian | 12,777 | 41.01 | N/A | |
| SDA | Desmond Lim Bak Chuan (Loses deposit) | 1,387 | 4.45 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 31,709 | 95.3 | N/A | ||
| PAP win (new seat) | |||||
See also
References
- ^ "Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer resigns over "grave mistake"". Channel NewsAsia. December 12, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
- ^ "WP's Lee wins Punggol East by-election". Channel NewsAsia. January 26, 2013.
- ^ Sim, Royston (12 September 2015). "GE2015: PAP's Charles Chong wins Punggol East SMC with 51.76 per cent of votes". The Straits Times. SPH. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ "SDA's Lim concedes defeat". Channel NewsAsia. 26 January 2013.
- ^ "WP's Lee Li Lian holds first Meet-the-People session". Channel NewsAsia. February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
