PUBLISHED ONJuly 10, 2020 7:38 PM
[UPDATED: July 11, 3.38am]
Results for Sengkang GRC for GE2020
| People's Action Party (PAP) | 47.87% |
| Workers' Party (WP) | 52.13% |
The Workers’ Party (WP) has won Sengkang GRC with 52.13 per cent of votes against the People's Action Party (PAP).
The WP team received 60,136 votes while the PAP team received 55,214 votes.
This is the second time ever that a GRC has fallen into the hands of the opposition, with the first being Aljunied GRC in 2011, which was also won by the WP.
The PAP team consists of Ng Chee Meng, Dr Lam Pin Min, Amrin Amin and Raymond Lye while WP’s candidates are He Ting Ru, Louis Chua, Raeesah Khan and Dr Jamus Lim.
During the thank-you speech, He thanked the WP supporters, volunteers and the “trust and the leap of faith” of the voters of Sengkang.
“We will work hard to make sure that this trust is not misplaced,” she said, adding that she was touched by the number of young people who had “come out to walk with us, volunteers and actually expressed their interest and hope in a better Singapore”.
She added that she felt that this bodes well for the future of Singapore.
“It warms the cockles of our hearts to be able to work for the people of Sengkang and for all Singaporeans,” said Dr Lim of their victory in Sengkang.
“Thank you for making this journey with us. It was every one of you who believed that this was possible that has now made what has happened tonight a reality. And together our team will work for a brighter future for Sengkang and Singapore. Kam sia (thank you), Sengkang."
Separately, PAP's Ng also thanked the volunteers and party activists for their work during the campaign. "It has been a wonderful journey in Sengkang, walking the town, talking to different residents... but unfortunately, given the results tonight, I can only say thank you for voting for us and for supporting the PAP team."
He added that the team would regroup and re-evaluate to see what were the factors that led to their loss and how they could do better for the residents of Sengkang.
Sengkang GRC was newly formed in 2020 and has 120,166 voters. It has a younger demographic than most GRCs, with voters primarily in their 20s to 40s.
The GRC is made up of Sengkang Central ward from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, the former Punggol East SMC, and part of the former Sengkang West SMC.
The two SMCs have traditionally been WP stomping grounds and were contested by them in the last two general elections. Punggol East SMC was won by WP in the 2013 by-election, though it was ceded to PAP in 2015.
PAP's Ng was previously an MP in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, Dr Lam is the former MP of Sengkang West SMC, while Amrin moved from Sembawang GRC. Lye is a newcomer to politics.
On the WP team, He was a candidate for Marine Parade GRC in 2015. Her teammates are all standing for election for the first time.
WP's Dr Lim caused a stir during the campaign period with his performance at the live TV political debate while teammate Raeesah received negative attention for her past Facebook posts, with two police reports lodged against her. She has since publicly apologised for her posts, with WP chief Pritam Singh throwing his support behind her.
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editor@asiaone.com