President Tony Tan Keng Yam issued a writ of election today at 4pm. The Nomination Day will be on the 16th Jan and polling day would be on Jan 26.
This is the second time by-elections are called within a span of one year. In both cases, the parliamentary seat was vacated by the MPs over extra marital affairs.
There will be a total of 5 parties contesting in this by election. The People’s Action Party (PAP), Workers’ Party (WP), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Reform Party (RP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA). Former Singapore Peoples’ Party (SPP) member Benjamin Pwee has indicated that he will be contesting as an independent candidate.
SDP kicked off its by-election walkabout last Sunday.
There were 33,281 voters in Punggol East at General Election held in May 2011. It was the only ward with a three-corner fight. The PAP won with 54.54 per cent of the votes. WP candidate Lee Li Lian won 41.01 per cent of the votes while Mr Desmond Lim of the SDA only garnered 4.45 per cent of the votes. Desmond Lim Lost his deposit.
PAP may win in a multi-way fight. The key number to watch is 50%. If PAP vote share dips below 45%, they are in deep s*** even if they win this round. (A 10% loss in votes could mean a new government in 2016!)
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