Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh has warned that "nothing can be taken for granted" when it comes to his party's presence in Parliament.

In a pre-recorded broadcast aired on Friday (April 25), Singh said that "one or even two" constituencies currently held by the WP "can easily be lost" in this General Election.

He was referring to the 10 seats that the party won in GE2020, including Aljunied and Sengkang GRCs, as well as its long-held stronghold of Hougang SMC.

With that, Singh, 48, said that it is "important for Singapore's democracy" for the WP to win more constituencies.

"With more WP constituencies comes a higher chance that Parliament will continue to have a fully-elected democratic opposition presence for the longer term," he said.

"This will make our system stable and sustainable for the future."

WP is contesting 26 out of 97 seats across five GRCs — Aljunied, Sengkang, East Coast, Punggol and Tampines — and the single seats of Hougang, Tampines Changkat and Jalan Kayu.

"The WP will not form the next government. The PAP will certainly do so. But the WP needs your support to strengthen our presence in Parliament," said Singh.

Runs town councils 'as well as PAP'

In his six-minute message, Singh, who leads the WP slate for Aljunied GRC, gave a pitch on how WP "works for Singapore".

He said that his party runs town councils "as well as" in wards held by the People's Action Party.

Singh cited the 2024 estate management report by Ministry for National Development which gave Aljunied-Hougang Town Council and Sengkang Town Council a "green" score — the highest of three ratings.

Town councils are assessed across several indicators such as estate cleanliness, estate maintenance, lift performance, as well as service and conservancy charges arrears management.

All town councils, save for Chua Chu Kang Town Council, received the top rating in that year.

"If voters put their trust in us, the WP will leverage our town council experience to serve our current and new constituencies well," said Singh.

'Not only at election time'

In his pitch to Singaporeans ahead of the polls on May 3, he also reiterated his party's campaign message.

Asking "tough" questions aside, he said that they are "appropriate and necessary" to reflect the concerns of Singaporeans.

"You know that PAP MPs do not question the government on all matters you would like them to," he said.

"Workers' Party MPs can ask any question, especially the difficult questions which are necessary in the public interest.

"When we vote in Parliament, we do not need to toe the PAP's line. We oppose measures that we believe are not in the national interest. But when it is right to do so, we will support government Bills and even Constitutional amendments."

Besides parliamentary duties, Singh said that the WP also visit homes and public areas in constituencies that are not opposition-held to "engage with residents and listen to their concerns".

"We have done this consistently for years and not only at election time," he added.

chingshijie@asiaone.com

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