WP sets sights on 5 GRCs and 5 SMCs

WP sets sights on 5 GRCs and 5 SMCs

The Workers' Party (WP) will contest five Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and five Single Member Constituencies (SMCs), party chairman Sylvia Lim told The Straits Times.

Other than Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC, which are currently held by the WP, the party will field candidates in East Coast, Jalan Besar, Nee Soon and Marine Parade GRCs, as well as Fengshan, MacPherson and Sengkang West SMCs.

WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang had said earlier yesterday that the WP would contest Marine Parade GRC and MacPherson SMC.

Speaking to reporters at a walkabout in Punggol East, Mr Low said the party had been working the ground in Marine Parade GRC as well as Joo Chiat SMC, which will be absorbed into Marine Parade. MacPherson has been carved out of Marine Parade by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, whose report was released on Friday.

"As a matter of principle, the Workers' Party will contest where we have contested before," he said.

"In this case, Joo Chiat is being redrawn into Marine Parade. We don't want to disappoint voters in Joo Chiat. We want to offer them a choice again in this election," he said.

WP's Yee Jenn Jong lost Joo Chiat to the PAP's Charles Chong by 388 votes in the 2011 General Election.

The WP had contested in East Coast GRC in 2011, and Fengshan SMC has been carved out of that area.

It also contested Moulmein-Kallang GRC, a large part of which is now in Jalan Besar GRC, as well as Nee Soon GRC and Sengkang West SMC.

Leaders and members of opposition parties were out on walkabouts across the island yesterday morning, stepping up activity as the General Election draws nearer.

WP members were out in both single seats held by the party. Mr Low joined Punggol East SMC incumbent Lee Li Lian in her constituency to greet residents and sell copies of the party's newsletter, The Hammer.

Hougang SMC incumbent Png Eng Huat was in his constituency, where he was joined by Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam, who is likely to be part of the WP team in East Coast GRC.

The National Solidarity Party's leaders were out in Tampines GRC, where a team from the party contested in 2011.

A team from the Singaporeans First Party was also on a walkabout in the constituency, where the new party has said it also hopes to contest.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) was on a walkabout in Bukit Batok, where a new SMC has been formed. SDP says it wants to contest the seat. It is in the area where the party's former chair, Ling How Doong, held the former Bukit Gombak seat from 1991 to 1997.


This article was first published on July 27, 2015.
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