Singapore GE: NSP to contest in Sembawang and Tampines GRCs, Pioneer and MacPherson SMCs

SINGAPORE - The National Solidarity Party (NSP) intends to contest Tampines GRC, Sembawang GRC and the Pioneer and MacPherson single seats at the next general election.

NSP secretary-general Spencer Ng on Sunday (March 22) said his party would contest the same constituencies that it did in GE2015.

He will lead a team to contest in Sembawang, and party president Reno Fong will helm another team to stand in Tampines, Mr Ng told reporters during a walkabout in Tampines Street 81.

Party members distributed hand sanitiser to members of the public, including shopkeepers.

So far, about 10 party members are interested in standing for election, and the NSP is still reviewing them before unveiling its slate of candidates, Mr Ng added.

The applicants include entrepreneurs and professionals from the IT and logistics sectors who are aged between the late 20s and early 50s, he said.

The NSP joins a growing number of opposition parties that have indicated where they will contest for the GE, which is expected to be held in the next few months following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee's report earlier this month.

Most parties have said they would run in the constituencies that they contested in 2015.

But the entry of newly formed Progress Singapore Party (PSP), led by former People's Action Party veteran MP Tan Cheng Bock, has raised the possibility of multi-cornered fights.

The PSP earlier indicated that it would contest 15 constituencies, including West Coast GRC, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Sembawang GRC, Pioneer SMC, Radin Mas SMC and the new Marymount SMC.

The NSP, Reform Party (RP) and Singapore People’s Party (SPP) have staked their claim on these constituencies as well. 

RP said in a post on its Facebook page on Saturday (March 21) that it "will continue to serve the residents by contesting in West Coast GRC, Ang Mo Kio GRC and Radin Mas SMC".

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SPP has said it will field candidates in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC as well as Potong Pasir, Marymount and Mountbatten SMCs.

Party chairman Jose Raymond will be its candidate in Potong Pasir, while secretary-general Steve Chia will lead a team to contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.

Singapore Democratic Alliance chairman Desmond Lim Bak Chuan told The Straits Times that the party will be contesting in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

The party has contested there since 2006 and has been working the ground since, he added.

"We will continue to contest in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC... We suggest (for opposition parties) to go elsewhere. Don't duplicate our actions and waste resources," Mr Lim said.

NSP's Mr Ng said his party is set to meet PSP on Monday for talks, adding that while multi-cornered fights risk duplicating resources, they are a sign of democracy at work. "It's kind of messy, but that's democracy," he said.

His party could see a three-way fight in Tampines GRC as well, as the Workers' Party has been seen walking the ground there. The WP has yet to announce the wards it will be contesting.

Singaporeans First secretary-general Tan Jee Say said his party is discussing where to contest.

The Democratic Progressive Party held a meeting on Saturday to discuss its election plans.

People's Power Party secretary-general Goh Meng Seng said he had no comments when asked where his party planned to contest in.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.