2015 Singaporean general election

Singapore general election, 2015

2015
89 (out of 99) seats to the Parliament of Singapore 45 seats needed for a majority
Leader Lee Hsien Loong Low Thia Khiang Chiam See Tong Party PAP WP SPP Leader since 2004 2001 2001 Leader's seat Ang Mo Kio GRC Aljunied GRC TBA Last election 81 seats, 60.1% 6 seats + 2 NCMP, 12.8% 0 seats + 1 NCMP, 3.1% Current seats 79 seats 7 seats + 2 NCMP 1 NCMP
Incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong PAP

Singapore's next parliamentary general election must be held by January 2017. The Parliament of Singapore's maximum term is five years, within which it must be dissolved by the President of Singapore and elections held within three months, as stated in the Constitution of Singapore. Voting is mandatory in Singapore and is based on the first-past-the-post system. Elections are conducted by the Elections Department, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Background

The next General Election will be the 17th General Election in Singapore and the 12th since independence. The governing People's Action Party (PAP) will seek to secure their 14th consecutive term in office since 1959. This will be the PAP's third election with Lee Hsien Loong as its Secretary-General, and the country's first election after the death of its founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Political parties

Main article: List of political parties in Singapore

The governing People's Action Party (PAP) has been in power since Singapore's independence in 1965, and is currently led by the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The leading Opposition party is the Worker's Party, led by Low Thia Khiang. The party hold 7 elected seats and 2 NCMP seats from GE 2011. Singapore People's Party led by Chiam See Tong has 1 NCMP seat.

Party	Leader	Year Formed	Seats before GE2015	Parliamentary Presence	Represented Colours
People's Action Party	Lee Hsien Loong	1954	80	1965—	White
Workers' Party	Low Thia Khiang	1957	9	1961—1963; 1981—1986; 1991—	Light Blue
Singapore People's Party	Chiam See Tong	1994	1	1997—	Red & White
Singapore Democratic Party	Chee Soon Juan	1980	0	1984—1997	Red
National Solidarity Party	Sebastian Teo	1987	0	2001—2006	Orange
Singapore Democratic Alliance	Desmond Lim Bak Chuan	2001	0	2001—2006	Green
Democratic Progressive Party	Benjamin Pwee	1973	0	—	White & Orange
Reform Party	Kenneth Jeyaretnam	2008	0	—	Yellow
Singaporeans First	Tan Jee Say	2014	0	—	Blue
People's Power Party	Goh Meng Seng	2015	0	—	Purple

Electoral divisions

Main articles: List of Singaporean electoral divisions and Constituencies of Singapore

The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is convened before every GE to review electoral boundaries in view of population growth and shifts. The Committee is appointed by the Prime Minister. Its published list signifies the start of an election cycle.

The new electoral divisions were announced on 24 July 2015.

	GE2011	GE2015
Seats	87	89
Electoral Divisions	27	29
Group Representation Constituencies	15	16
Single Member Constituencies	12	13

Division	Remarks
New Single Member Constituencies
Bukit Batok SMC	Carved out from Jurong GRC
Fengshan SMC	Carved out from East Coast GRC
MacPherson SMC	Carved out from Marine Parade GRC
New Group Representation Constituencies
Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	Absorbed Yew Tee, Woodgrove and Marsiling divisions from both Chua Chu Kang GRC and Sembawang GRC.
Jalan Besar GRC	Absorbed majority parts from Moulmein-Kallang GRC and Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division from Tanjong Pagar GRC.
Dissolved Single Member Constituencies
Joo Chiat SMC	Absorbed into Marine Parade GRC)
Whampoa SMC	Absorbed into Jalan Besar GRC
Dissolved Group Representation Constituencies
Moulmein-Kallang GRC	Jalan Besar, Kolam Ayer, Kampong Glam division of the Moulmein-Kallang GRC and Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division of the Tanjong Pagar GRC go into the newly formed Jalan Besar GRC. The Moulmein ward was divided into Tanjong Pagar GRC, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Jalan Besar GRC.
Downsized Group Representation Constituencies
Chua Chu Kang GRC	Reduced from 5 MPs to 4 MPs
East Coast GRC	Reduced from 5 MPs to 4 MPs
West Coast GRC	Reduced from 5 MPs to 4 MPs
Changes to Group Representation Constituencies
Ang Mo Kio GRC	Absorbed Punggol South division from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and parts of Sengkang West SMC
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Absorbed parts of Moulmein division from Moulmein-Kallang GRC
Chua Chu Kang GRC	Carved out Yew Tee division to Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC
East Coast GRC	Carved out Fengshan SMC
Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Absorbed parts of West Coast GRC and parts of Moulmein division.
Jurong GRC	Carved out Bukit Batok SMC, absorbed parts of Clementi from West Coast GRC.
Marine Parade GRC	Carved out MacPherson division, absorbed Joo Chiat SMC
Nee Soon GRC	Carved out eastern part of Yishun, absorbed in most of Kebun Baru division from Ang Mo Kio GRC.
Sembawang GRC	Carved out Woodgrove and Marsiling, absorbed Canberra and parts of Chong Pang, Nee Soon East and Nee Soon South divisions from Nee Soon GRC.
Tanjong Pagar GRC	Carved out Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division, absorbed parts of Moulmein division from Moulmein-Kallang GRC.
West Coast GRC	Carved out Clementi division and Faber private estate to Jurong GRC

There were no changes made to the three electoral divisions held by the Workers' Party, namely, Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC. Potong Pasir SMC, which was until 2011, held by the Opposition, was also left untouched.

Timeline

Date	Event
24 Jul	Publication of electoral boundaries report
	Issuance of writ of election
	Nomination Day
	Campaigning
	Cooling Off Day
	Polling Day

Pre Nomination Day Events

Date	Event
13 Jul	Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in Parliament that he had convened the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee two months prior. He had instructed the Committee to create smaller Group Representation Constituencies, and to have at least 12 Single Member Constituencies.
24 Jul	The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee publishes report on new electoral boundaries MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC Inderjit Singh is first incumbent to announce retirement. His Facebook announcement prompted PAP Organising Secretary Ng Eng Hen to comment that he would prefer MPs to announce their retirement in a more dignified manner.
26 Jul	Workers’ Party announces plan to contest 28 seats, an increase of 5 from GE 2011, and slightly under a third of the 89 parliamentary seats.
27 Jul	Elections Department announces that revised registers of electors are open for public inspection.
31 Jul	Chief of Defence Force Ng Chee Meng announces retirement from the military with effect from 18 Aug, making him the highest ranked defence general to enter politics He would later tell the media— just before his Change of Command Parade on 18 Aug— that he stepped into the political arena because he was "indebted to Singapore."
2 Aug	National Solidarity Party announced its intention to field Nicole Seah as a candidate, but the latter confirms with the media on the same day that she would not rejoin the party, nor stand in GE 2015.
3 Aug	Opposition parties hold first horse-trading talks at National Solidarity Party headquarters ahead of GE. The host party had responded to a request by Reform Party to shift the meeting from its intended date of 31 Jul.
4 Aug	Chee Hong Tat, Second Permanent Secretary (Trade & Industry), announces resignation
5 Aug	MP for Marine Parade GRC, Tin Pei Ling gives birth to first child. Goh Chok Tong pays a hospital visit and announces that Tin will stand for election in MacPherson SMC. MP for Aljunied GRC, Low Thia Khiang announced that he will remain in the same GRC, quashing rumours that he might lead a team to contest in other GRCs. He, however, declined to reveal the full lineup for Aljunied.
6 Aug	Opposition parties hold second horse-trading talks ahead of GE. Workers' Party is absent. Sylvia Lim, Workers' Party chairman, explained to the media that it was not productive for the party to attend further talks. Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam walked out of the meeting within 15 minutes. Independent Tan Lam Siong announced intent to stand in Potong Pasir, creating the first three-way fight this GE, and making him the first independent to stand since 2001.
7 Aug	MPs: Mah Bow Tan, former Cabinet Minister and MP for Tampines GRC, Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower and MP for Sembawang GRC, and Irene Ng, MP for Tampines GRC announce retirement.
8 Aug	Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, announced PAP changes in the west. Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob would leave Jurong GRC and join the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. Three-term MP for West Coast GRC, Arthur Fong would step down.
11 Aug	MP for Moulmein-Kallang GRC and Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew announces retirement from politics, making him the first cabinet minister to step down before GE 2015. He would later comment that it seemed like "obituaries and eulogies without the flowers", while referring to the outpour of support after his announcement.
12 Aug	Organising Secretary Ng Eng Hen announces that the ruling party will formally unveil its entire slate of candidates before the National Day Rally held on 23 Aug. First of 29 electoral divisions to be unveiled is Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, where he is anchor minister. Wong Kan Seng, Hri Kumar Nair and Zainudin Nordin are replaced by Chee Hong Tat, 41, Chong Kee Hiong, 49 and Saktiandi Supaat, 41. Incumbent Josephine Teo, 47, remains. Unlike its traditional practise of introducing candidates at its party headquarters, the PAP chose a coffeeshop to hold the media conference. Low Thia Khiang responded that Workers' Party would unveil its own slate of candidates before Nomination Day, but would not indicate where the candidates would be standing.
13 Aug	Melvin Yong, Director- Public Affairs Department, Singapore Police Force announces resignation. Straits Times reports that he may stand for election as a PAP candidate in Tanjong Pagar GRC.
14 Aug	People’s Action Party unveils candidates for Sembawang GRC, led by Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for National Development and PAP Chairman. The new faces are Amrin Amin, 36, lawyer and Ong Ye Kung, 45, director at Keppel Corporation. The other two candidates are Vikram Nair and Lim Wee Kiak. Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower, and Ellen Lee, a two-term MP will step down. The Singapore Police Force announces that election rallies and seventh month festival getai shows must be kept separate, following news that at least two political parties had intended to engage getai singers to perform at election rallies.
15 Aug	People’s Action Party unveils candidates for three electoral divisions: Ang Mo Kio GRC continues to be helmed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is joined by two new faces, Darryl David, 44 and Koh Poh Koon, 43. Gan Thiam Poh, 51, joins from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. Ang Hin Kee, 49, and Intan Azura Mokhtar, 39 remain. Inderjit Singh and Seng Han Thong step down, while Yeo Guat Kwang will be fielded elsewhere. Sengkang West SMC: Lam Pin Min, 45, to defend seat. Hougang SMC, a ward held by Workers' Party since 1991, will be contested by Lee Hong Chuang, 44. Former cabinet minister Raymond Lim announces retirement. Fengshan SMC, formerly part of East Coast GRC has been carved out to be a Single Member Constituency for GE2015.
16 Aug	People’s Action Party unveils candidates for four electoral divisions: West Coast GRC: Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, 61, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office S. Iswaran, 53, Foo Mee Har, 49, will be joined by Patrick Tay, 46, from Nee Soon GRC. Arthur Fong steps down, while Lawrence Wong leaves to anchor Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. Chua Chu Kang GRC: Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong, 56, Zaqy Mohamad, 41, Low Yen Ling, 41, and newcomer Yee Chia Hsing, 44. Alvin Yeo steps down, while Alex Yam's ward is drafted into Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. Jalan Besar GRC: Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, 59, Heng Chee How, 54, Denise Phua, 55 and Lily Neo, 61. Pioneer SMC: Cedric Foo, 55, to defend seat. Workers’ Party announced that all its elected MPs from the last Election (and by-elections) will be defending their respective wards: Aljunied GRC: Low Thia Khiang, 58, Sylvia Lim, 50, Chen Show Mao, 54, Pritam Singh, 39, and Muhamad Faisal, 40. Hougang SMC: Png Eng Huat, 53 Punggol East SMC: Lee Li Lian, 37
17 Aug	People's Action Party announced that Sitoh Yih Pin, 51, will be defending his seat in Potong Pasir SMC.
18 Aug	National University of Singapore hosts a political dialogue, where population issues— including influx of foreign workers— took centerstage. Other issues included the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council saga and transportation. Party representatives included: Benjamin Pwee, Gerald Giam, Goh Meng Seng, Harminder Singh, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Paul Tambyah, Steve Chia, Sim Ann and Tan Jee Say.
19 Aug	People's Action Party unveiled its slate for two more electoral divisions. Tanjong Pagar GRC: Minister, PMO and Union Chief, Chan Chun Sing, 45, Senior Minister of State, Law and Education, Indranee Rajah, 52, Chia Shi-Lu, 43, and two new candidates, Joan Pereira, 47, and Melvin Yong, 43, who replace the late Lee Kuan Yew and Lily Neo, whose ward is now under Jalan Besar. Radin Mas SMC: Minister of State, PMO, Sam Tan Chin Siong, 56 to defend seat. National Solidarity Party announces that it will contest MacPherson SMC, creating possibly the second three-cornered fight this GE. Acting Sec-Gen Hazel Poa quits within hours of the announcement, declaring that she strongly disagreed with Steve Chia's decision to contest ward.
20 Aug	People's Action Party unveiled its slate for two more electoral divisions. Jurong GRC: Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 58, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Desmond Lee, 39, Minister of State, National Development, Ang Wei Neng, 48, and two new candidates, Tan Wu Meng, 40, and Rahayu Mazam, 35, who replace Halimah Yacob, who has been transferred to Marsiling Yew-Tee GRC, and David Ong, whose ward has been carved out as Bukit Batok SMC. Bukit Batok SMC: David Ong, 54, to defend seat.

Candidates

The following is based on media reports and announcements made by various parties. The list will only be finalised on Nomination Day.

Division	Candidates		No of Electors
Single Member Constituencies
Bukit Batok SMC	David Ong		27,068
Bukit Panjang SMC			34,299
Fengshan SMC			23.404
Hong Kah North SMC	Amy Khor		28,131
Hougang SMC	Png Eng Huat	Lee Hong Chuang	24,064
MacPherson SMC	Tin Pei Ling		28,481
Mountbatten SMC		Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss	24,096
Pioneer SMC	Cedric Foo		25,453
Potong Pasir SMC	Sitoh Yih Pin	Lina Chiam ___ Tan Lam Siong	17,389
Punggol East SMC	Lee Li Lian	Charles Chong	34,410
Radin Mas SMC	Sam Tan		28,885
Sengkang West SMC	Lam Pin Min		30,097
Yuhua SMC	Grace Fu		22,599
4-member Group Representation Constituencies
Chua Chu Kang GRC	Gan Kim Yong Zaqy Mohamad Low Yen Ling Yee Chia Hsing		119,848
East Coast GRC	Lim Swee Say		99,015
Holland-Bukit Timah GRC	Vivian Balakrishnan		104,397
Jalan Besar GRC	Yaacob Ibrahim Heng Chee How Denise Phua Lily Neo		102,454
Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC	Lawrence Wong Halimah Yacob Alex Yam Ong Teng Koon		107,527
West Coast GRC	Lim Hng Kiang S. Iswaran Foo Mee Har Patrick Tay		99,236
5-member Group Representation Constituencies
Aljunied GRC	Low Thia Khiang Sylvia Lim Chen Show Mao Pritam Singh Muhamad Faisal Manap		148,024
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC	Ng Eng Hen Josephine Teo Chee Hong Tat Saktiandi Supaat Chong Kee Hiong		129,850
Jurong GRC	Tharman Shanmugaratnam Ang Wei Neng Desmond Lee Rahayu Mahzam Tan Wu Meng		130,428
Marine Parade GRC	Tan Chuan-Jin Goh Chok Tong Fatimah Lateef Seah Kian Peng Edwin Tong		146,087
Nee Soon GRC	K. Shanmugam		132,200
Sembawang GRC	Khaw Boon Wan Ong Ye Kung Amrin Amin Vikram Nair Lim Wee Kiak		144,604
Tampines GRC	Heng Swee Keat Masagos Zulfiki Baey Yam Keng Desmond Choo Cheng Li Hui		143,426
Tanjong Pagar GRC	Chan Chun Sing Indranee Thurai Rajah Chia Shi-Lu Joan Pereira Melvin Yong		130,391
6-member Group Representation Constituencies
Ang Mo Kio GRC	Lee Hsien Loong Ang Hin Kee Intan Azura Mokhtar Gan Thiam Poh Darryl David Koh Poh Koon		187,652
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC	Teo Chee Hean		187,252

Potential candidates seen in walkabouts

People's Action Party

• Amrin Amin, 35-year old lawyer, partner at law firm Joseph Tan Jude Benny (JTJB)
• Chee Hong Tat, 41-year old second permanent secretary to Ministry of Trade and Industry
• Cheng Li Hui, 38-year old CEO of Hai Leck Holdings
• Chong Kee Hiong, 48-year old CEO of OUE Hospitality Trust
• Darryl David, 43-year old deputy director of Temasek Polytechnic
• Desmond Choo (transferred from Hougang SMC, previously contest but lost)
• Henry Kwek, 37-year old executive director of Foodtraco Supplies
• Ismail Muhammad Hanif, 36-year old research scientist
• Koh Poh Koon (transferred from Punggol East SMC, previously contest but lost)
• Louis Ng, 36-year old animal rights activist
• Ong Ye Kung (transferred from Aljunied GRC, previously contest but lost)
• Saktiandi Supaat, 42-year old head of foreign research
• Tan Wu Meng, 40-year old oncologist

Workers' Party

• Leon Perera, 44-year-old CEO of Spire Research and Consulting
• Associate Professor Daniel Goh Peisiong, age 42, Deputy Head of Department and also as the Convenor of the Cultural Studies Programme in NUS
• Firuz Khan, 49-year-old Businessman in the banking and retail industry
• Gerald Giam, 37-year-old an IT Project Manager and NCMP
• Yee Jenn Jong, 50-year-old CEO of an IT company and NCMP
• Dennis Tan, 45-years-old, boutique law firm partner specializing in shipping
• Mohamed Fairoz Shariff, 37 year-old Associate Librarian
• Terence Tan, 43-year-old, Litigation lawyer
• Luke Koh, 40-year-old, CEO of a holdings company
• Dylan Ng, 40-year-old, wealth manager
• He Ting Ru, 32-year-old, corporate lawyer
• Cheryl Denise Loh, 32-year-old, sales consultant

WP's member, Mr Leon Perera, has been identified by mainstream media reports as a potential candidate. Mr Perera graduated from Oxford University with double first-class honors in Economics, Politics and Philosophy and is the chief executive of Spire Research and Consulting. Other potential WP candidates include Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Peisiong, a sociologist at the National University of Singapore, Shipping Lawyer & Partner Dennis Tan as well as Firuz Khan a businessman.

Outgoing Incumbents & Incoming Candidates

The below is a summary for the three political parties with parliamentary prescence from GE2011.

Outgoing	Incoming
People's Action Party
Alvin Yeo (Chua Chu Kang) Arthur Fong (West Coast) Ellen Lee (Sembawang) Hawazi Daipi (Sembawang) Hri Kumar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh) Inderjit Singh (Ang Mo Kio) Irene Ng (Tampines) Lee Kuan Yew (Tanjong Pagar) Lui Tuck Yew (Moulmein-Kallang) Mah Bow Tan (Tampines) Raymond Lim (East Coast) Seng Han Thong (Ang Mo Kio) Wong Kan Seng (Bishan-Toa Payoh) Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh)	Amrin Amin (Sembawang) Chee Hong Tat (Bishan-Toa Payoh) Chong Kee Hiong (Bishan-Toa Payoh) Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio) Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar) Koh Poh Koon (Ang Mo Kio) Lee Hong Chuang (Hougang) Melvin Yong (Tanjong Pagar) Ong Ye Kung (Sembawang) Rahayu Mazam (Jurong) Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh) Tan Wu Meng (Jurong) Yee Chia Hsing (Chua Chu Kang)
Workers' Party
Nil.
Singapore People Party
Nil.

Election Rallies

Date	Time	Party	Location	Electoral Division
To be announced

See also

• Elections in Singapore
• Constituencies of Singapore
• List of Singaporean electoral divisions
• List of political parties in Singapore