Voting patterns in different areas
Polling results show many landed housing areas voted for Dr Tony Tan, while Dr Tan Cheng Bock won handsomely in the west. -AsiaOne
Mon, Aug 29, 2011
AsiaOne
Although the Elections Department did not release the breakdown of votes by electoral divisions, unofficial indications obtained from various sources showed a disparity in voting patterns.
In a report in The Straits Times, the final tally showed that support was spread unevenly across the island.
Although Dr Tony Tan won by a slight margin of 0.34 percentage point, the gap in favour was much larger in many areas.
Dr Tan Cheng Bock had a clear lead in certain parts - he won handsomely in large parts of the west like Ayer Rajah, Jurong and Choa Chu Kang.
Dr Tan Cheng Bock was MP for Ayer Rajah for 25 years and runs a clinic in Jurong West.
He also won a large number of votes in north-eastern new towns like Punggol and Sengkang.
As for Dr Tony Tan, who was MP for Sembawang for 27 years, won consistently in areas in the north, centre and east like Sembawang, Nee Soon and East Coast.
In many of these areas, the front-runner was often a clear three to six percentage points ahead of the second- placed candidate, according to sources.
The Straits Times reported that sources on both sides attribute the geographic disparity to the fact that both Dr Tans have established good reputations in the area. They also have local grassroots workers there.
There could also be an element of demographic reasons for the differences across the island.
In areas such as Punggol and Sengkang where there is a dispportionate number of young residents, Dr Tan Cheng Bock was seen to have led the count there and in parts of Hougang new town and Hougang single-member constituency (SMC).
In Aljunied GRC, both Dr Tans are said to have obtained around 30 per cent of valid votes, similar to that obtained by Mr Tan Jee Say there.
As for Dr Tony Tan, he did well in older estates like Bedok and Pasir Ris - estates that have traditionally been supportive of the People's Action Party (PAP).
However, he had a greater lead in areas like East Coast GRC's Siglap ward and Joo Chiat SMC, where 85 per cent and 99 per cent of voters respectively live in private housing.
Dr Tony Tan received 30 per cent of the vote in Siglap and 41 per cent in Joo Chiat.
It also seems that Dr Tony Tan's strong financial and economics background have likely drawn the more upper-middle-class residents to back him.
He also led by several percentage points in many landed housing areas such as Tanglin in Tanjong Pagar GRC.
It also happened that the votes separating the two Dr Tans at many counting centres were in the double or triple digits, one way or the other.
In response to the vote margin, Dr Tan Cheng Bock's response early Sunday morning was: "It is fewer than the number of votes in the smallest SMC. But it made all the difference in deciding who gets the keys to the Istana."