GE2025: Where will the bigwigs run this election? All eyes on East Coast, Punggol, other ‘hot’ GRCs (2025)

SINGAPORE – With less than a day to candidate nominations for the general election, question marks still hang over where several bigwigs from both the ruling PAP and the WP, Singapore’s main opposition party, will be fielded.

While the PAP has announced its line-up for 28 out of the 33 constituencies for the May 3 polls, it has kept resolutely mum on plans for the keenly watched East Coast GRC, as well as the Punggol and Tanjong Pagar GRCs.

This has raised questions about whether some of its heavyweights may be moved to other seats come Nomination Day on April 23.

Perhaps one of the biggest questions is whether Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will continue to anchor the PAP’s East Coast GRC team, move to another constituency, or retire from politics.

There is also mystery around who will anchor the PAP’s Punggol GRC team, a new battleground where a showdown with the WP is expected.

The slate in Tanjong Pagar GRC, anchored by Education Minister Chan Chun Sing in the last election, also hangs in the balance after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah’s surprise move to the new Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.

She will replace Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean. Observers said SM Teo could end up being fielded elsewhere, including in Punggol GRC.

The PAP’s candidates for the Queenstown and Radin Mas SMCs are also unconfirmed.

The ruling party is expected to be challenged at the polls for all 97 seats, with 10 opposition parties likely to field candidates when nomination proceedings close at noon on April 23.

On the other side of the aisle, the WP has publicly introduced 14 new candidates, but has otherwise held its electoral cards close to its chest.

It has thus far confirmed only where two of the 14 new faces will stand, and has not ruled out fielding more on Nomination Day.

Apart from its Aljunied GRC crown jewel, which it has held since 2011, Sengkang GRC that it won in 2020, and the Hougang single seat that has been in WP hands since 1991, the party has not confirmed the other constituencies it would contest.

All eyes will be on whether WP leaders – secretary-general Pritam Singh, chairwoman Sylvia Lim, vice-chairman Faisal Manap and policy research head Gerald Giam – will move out of Aljunied GRC to contest elsewhere, including in East Coast or Punggol GRCs.

While unsurprising, the PAP’s and WP’s reticence about revealing their line-ups in certain constituencies points to the likelihood of last-minute tactical moves, said political observers.

Here is a closer look at several of the nine nomination centres across the island that will be the focus of attention on the morning of April 23.

Eye on East Coast, Punggol

Yusof Ishak Secondary School in Punggol – the site of nomination proceedings for East Coast, Punggol, Sengkang and Pasir Ris-Changi GRCs – will arguably be the most closely watched for surprise moves.

In 2020, the biggest 11th-hour surprise came from the PAP’s East Coast GRC team.

The first sign emerged a mere half-hour before nominations closed, when DPM Heng was spotted at the nomination centre. He was then a Tampines GRC incumbent.

As in previous elections, the composition of the PAP’s and WP’s East Coast GRC teams will attract keen interest this time, given the close contest expected. In 2020, the PAP narrowly eclipsed the WP with 53.39 per cent of the vote.

Another question mark is around where Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong will be fielded.

He is widely expected to move from the current Marine Parade GRC to East Coast GRC, which will absorb his Joo Chiat ward.

Dr Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), is of the view that Mr Tong will “most certainly anchor” East Coast GRC.

“The question is whether DPM Heng will remain there to be a co-anchor or be mobilised elsewhere,” she said.

Associate Professor Eugene Tan, a political analyst and SMU law don, said it remains unclear if Mr Tong may be deployed elsewhere, outside East Coast or Marine Parade.

For now, Madam Hazlina Abdul Halim – senior vice-president for strategy and communications at advisory firm Teneo – is set to run in East Coast GRC.

She will succeed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman, who is retiring. Incumbent Cheryl Chan has said she will also retire from politics.

Besides DPM Heng, the other incumbents in the constituency are Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How and Ms Jessica Tan.

On the WP front, there is talk that it could field senior counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal – regarded a “star catch” for the party – in East Coast GRC.

“I don’t want to be parachuted anywhere safe,” Mr Harpreet Singh had said in an interview on April 11.

Also set to unravel at Yusof Ishak Secondary are the PAP and WP line-ups for Punggol GRC.

SM Teo has been seen with PAP new face Foo Cexiang, a former director at the Ministry of Transport, along with incumbents overseeing estates in Punggol. They are Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State Sun Xueling and Ms Yeo Wan Ling.

IPS’ Dr Koh said SM Teo is free to be redeployed to Punggol GRC, as he is not contesting Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.

She added that he has the “gravitas to carry the ground”.

The WP has also been walking the ground in Punggol over the past year, with teams led by former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong spotted in recent months.

Aljunied, Tampines line-ups

Other hot seats where the WP’s nominations are likely to go down to the wire are in Aljunied and Tampines GRCs.

Poi Ching School in Tampines will be where candidates vying for these group representation constituencies, as well as the Tampines Changkat and Hougang single seats, will submit their nomination papers.

While the PAP has confirmed its line-up for Aljunied and Tampines GRCs, the WP has not.

In Aljunied GRC, the ruling party will field Ms Chan Hui Yuh, Dr Faisal Abdul Aziz, Mr Daniel Liu, Dr Adrian Ang and Mr Jagathishwaran Rajo.

The WP has said it will field new face Kenneth Tiong, a tech start-up director, there, but has not confirmed the rest of its slate.

Dr Koh said there is a possibility that Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Giam could be redeployed to new constituencies.

“This will be backed up by its new recruits, some of whom seem to be relatively accomplished professionals and others who have had time volunteering with it,” she noted.

Farther east, Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli will lead the PAP’s Tampines GRC team for the second time, with former army chief David Neo and marketing professor Charlene Chen on the ticket with incumbents, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Baey Yam Keng.

Among those tipped to be fielded in Tampines GRC for the WP include Mr Andre Low, a dispute lawyer-turned-consultant, payment expert Jasper Kuan, and Mr Jimmy Tan, co-founder of an industrial equipment supplying firm.

There has also been talk that Mr Faisal could move from Aljunied GRC to lead the WP team in Tampines GRC.

IPS’ Dr Koh said Tampines GRC may be in play for the WP, despite the National Solidarity Party also expressing interest in it.

She pointed to Mr Pritam Singh’s comment on April 19 that the party has no interest in making way for other opposition parties and does not attend talks organised to avoid multi-cornered battles.

Ultimately, said SMU’s Prof Tan, the question is where the WP will field its strongest GRC team, putting aside its Aljunied and Sengkang GRC slates.

“The fact that the PAP has not revealed its full complement and line-ups for a few GRCs, and the WP is unlikely to even reveal who is contesting where before Nomination Day, will likely mean that there will be last-minute tactical changes,” he noted.

It is unsurprising, added Prof Tan, that the tactical switches will involve constituencies where the PAP and WP are likely to go head-to-head.

Dr Koh said that while the parties may believe there is a tactical advantage in holding their cards close to their chests, this could disadvantage the side whose candidates are new to the ground.

The residents there, she noted, would have less time to get to know the candidates.

Other constituencies to watch

Kong Hwa School, the nomination centre for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, and Deyi Secondary School, which will host candidates contesting Jalan Kayu SMC, will also be ones to watch, said Prof Tan.

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng will lead the PAP’s team in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. It includes new face Diana Pang, a business development director, Minister of State Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and incumbents Seah Kian Peng and Tin Pei Ling.

While the WP has not shown its cards in that constituency either, several candidates who contested in 2020 could make a return. IT professional Nathaniel Koh, lawyer Fadli Fawzi and a new face, communications professional Jackson Au, have been making their rounds in the constituency.

In Jalan Kayu, the PAP is fielding labour chief Ng Chee Meng, who is seeking a comeback after his Sengkang GRC loss in 2020.

His challengers are, however, not known yet.

The WP is likely to contest the single seat, which is newly carved out of Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Should the WP increase its share of seats or popular vote at the polls, this may “well be a milestone in Singapore’s transition from a one-party dominant system”, said Prof Tan.

The coming election will happen under the growing shadow of a trade war ignited by sweeping US tariffs, and geopolitical uncertainty and turmoil.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is leading the PAP into a general election for the first time as secretary-general, has said the polls take place amid profound changes across the world and carry far greater stakes.

The stakes involved include how Singapore’s interest is defended on the global stage, and how the nation will navigate stormy weather to secure lives and livelihoods for its people, he added at the launch of the PAP manifesto on April 17.

“This SG60 election is ultimately about our future,” he said.

• Kenneth Cheng is assistant news editor at The Straits Times. He oversees transport coverage, spanning the land transport, aviation and maritime sectors.

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