SINGAPORE: Fringe political parties in Singapore have identified constituencies they wish to contest in a coming general election, despite the electoral map still being redrawn and the date of the polls not yet announced.

Overlapping claims have set these smaller opposition parties on a potential collision course, even with the crowded field consolidating into a few blocs in an attempt to avoid multi-cornered fights.

These parties say they have also readied potential candidates, but leaders are holding their cards close and planning to reveal names only nearer to Nomination Day.

The opposition landscape has shifted since the 2020 general election, which saw the greatest number of parties - 11 - contesting ever.

The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) won and formed the government with 61.24 per cent of the votes. The Workers’ Party (WP) and Progress Singapore Party (PSP) emerged as the only opposition parties with seats in parliament, while the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) made some headway after fielding its top two leaders in single-seat wards.

The other seven parties garnered less than 13 per cent of the total vote share.

In June 2023, Peoples Voice (PV), Reform Party (RP), People's Power Party (PPP) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) formed a People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), a formally registered partnership.

Late on Saturday (Feb 22), however, the PPP announced its withdrawal. The alliance's secretary-general Lim Tean said the rest of the parties could not agree to PPP's insistence on contesting Tampines GRC, which he said could lead to a four-cornered fight.

An informal alliance called The Coalition was also formed in October 2023, comprising four other parties: National Solidarity Party (NSP), Red Dot United (RDU), Singapore People's Party (SPP) and Singapore United Party (SUP).

PLANTING FLAGS

SUP secretary-general Andy Zhu said that within The Coalition, parties will deconflict on areas to contest. 

"But with other parties, then that’s a different matter.”

His party is eyeing Ang Mo Kio GRC and the two single-seat wards of Yio Chu Kang and Kebun Baru.

Fellow Coalition member SPP has been walking the ground in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and Potong Pasir SMC since 2020. The latter was where its first secretary-general and veteran opposition politician Chiam See Tong served as MP from 1984 to 2011.

RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon said his party will field candidates in Jurong GRC. It has also sent teams to walk the ground in other constituencies such as Nee Soon GRC. 

"We have been upfront that for GE2025, we will field at least 12 candidates and contest at least four constituencies," he said. "Exactly which these will be will depend on the EBRC report."

Social media posts show RDU volunteers also visiting Tanjong Pagar GRC and the single-seat wards of Yuhua, Kebun Bahru and Radin Mas.

The NSP meanwhile is looking at Tampines and Sembawang GRCs, according to Mr Zhu.

Mr Lim, PAR's secretary-general, wrote in a Facebook post on Feb 12 that the alliance would contest "many constituencies including Jalan Besar GRC, Tanjong Pagar GRC, Nee Soon GRC, Potong Pasir SMC, Mountbatten SMC, Radin Mas SMC, Yio Chu Kang SMC and Kebun Baru SMC".

“We are a proper alliance and not just a loose grouping of parties; we will be running combined teams in the constituencies except the SMCs. So no constituency is the preserve of any party,” Mr Lim, who is also PV leader, told CNA.

He was given six weeks’ jail and a S$1,000 (US$745) fine last week for practising law without a valid certificate.

Before leaving the PAR bloc, PPP chief Goh Meng Seng told CNA his party had set its sights on Tampines and Nee Soon GRCs as well as the Yio Chu Kang single-seat. He confirmed on Sunday his party's intent to contest in Tampines.

Separate from the two newest blocs, the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) - made up of the Singapore Justice Party and the Singapore Malay National Organisation - has continued efforts in Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC, which it has contested since 2015.

AVOIDING MULTI-CORNERED FIGHTS

Based on the parties' declared intentions, a handful of group representation constituencies (GRCs) and single member constituencies (SMCs) could be headed for a multi-cornered showdown at this year's polls.

In the last general election in 2020, opposition party leaders did not hold traditional horse-trading talks to iron out conflicts. Instead, they attempted to work it out one-to-one or in loose groups.

It resulted in a three-cornered fight in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC between the PAP, PV and SDA.

For SDA chief Desmond Lim, the aim of opposition parties collaborating is generally to get everyone to commit to fielding candidates in an election, so that all seats are contested.

“It’s definitely good to avoid three-cornered fights, but ultimately we cannot stop what other parties want to do," he said. "We have to respect our opponents if they think they stand a better chance."

Mr Zhu of SUP said his party doesn't "want to go around and anyhow step on other parties’ territories”.

“If other parties have spent time and effort walking the ground there, then you need to think if that is justifiable or not.”

He was hopeful it would be easier to avoid overlapping claims between parties this time round, as there are “less voices at the table”.

PPP's Goh admitted that opposition supporters would not like multi-cornered fights to happen. But at the same time, he views such battles as a positive representation of  “a progression of democracy”.

“Not all parties have the same ideology, perspective, views or interests," he told CNA. "It will be good for Singaporeans to ... not (think about) voting anti-PAP or anti-opposition, but to think carefully (about) what each party and what each candidate represents."

GATHERING THE TROOPS

Asked about recruitment efforts, PAR's Lim Tean said the alliance has "a big number of new candidates”.

Over at The Coalition, members have spoken about sharing resources, including in fielding candidates, said Mr Zhu, whose SUP has 20 members comprising professionals and blue-collar workers.

This could involve party members resigning to join another party, which has been done at previous elections.

The RDU shortlisted 20 potential candidates in February last year and has been training them since, said Mr Philemon, confirming that his party will field new faces in the coming contest.

SDA's Mr Lim meanwhile said his bloc currently has around 1,000 members.

“We maintain a dedicated core group of over 30 active members during non-election periods. However, when election season arrives, this number swells to at least 200 members likely to take leave and participate actively in campaign efforts.”

Mr Lim said the SDA is working to amend its constitution to allow associate members to join.

"These would be members who are already part of other parties, but can join SDA without having to resign from their parties,” he said. “They don’t have to strictly follow our by-laws under this new framework. They will enjoy the same recognition and entitlement to contest in the GE under the SDA banner.”

This scheme would also target independent candidates, Mr Lim added.

“While some of the other (parties) have already formed groups, we are all still on talking terms, so our door is always open," he said. "(But) our values will have to be aligned ... there are protocols to follow, and they will have to write in formally to our secretariat. It cannot just be coffee shop talk.”

LAY OF THE OPPOSITION LAND

Leaders of the smaller parties told CNA they were not concerned by the dominance of the WP and the PSP over the opposition landscape.

The WP currently holds Aljunied and Sengkang GRCs and Hougang SMC, while the PSP has two Non-Constituency MPs in parliament.

“There’s no need to compare with the WP and PSP. They definitely have more resources than us, such as in human capital,” said SUP’s Mr Zhu.

“I do think that the WP and PSP will win votes in the next election, but we won’t do anything different just to adjust for them.

"They are not our opponent, the PAP is the opponent.”

Mr Zhu noted that the WP, in particular, has not worked with other opposition parties over the years.

“It’s just the way they have done things, and it has worked for them,” he said.

Mr Philemon said his RDU's focus was not on breaking the dominance of any party, be it the PAP, WP or PSP.

"That is the wrong motivation to contest any election," he said. "Our contest is with the PAP, but our conversation is with the people.”

For SPP chief Steve Chia, all opposition parties are ultimately in the same camp.

"They want us all to bring about more checks and balances to the Singapore parliament," said the former NCMP. "In this day and age, nobody wants a monopolistic government."

Mr Goh said the PPP doesn't see WP or PSP as rivals, and that the party's ultimate goal is a more “diverse political spectrum”.

“It’s good that they have seats in the parliament. But of course our perspective is a bit different and that’s where the value of diversity comes in."

THE FUTURE OF THE FRINGE

⁠Some of the early posturing by the political parties may just be a tactic to negotiate for positions, said National University of Singapore associate professor of political science Chong Ja Ian.

“Staking out claims is a simple way to coordinate among opposition parties, since none have enough people to effectively contest all the seats,” he said.

Multi-cornered fights can be consequential, especially where support for larger parties is more or less evenly matched, and every single vote matters for victory, he noted.

“Some parties with conservative platforms could also siphon some of the votes away from the PAP too,” added Assoc Prof Chong.

Still, the WP and PSP have an edge over the smaller parties, being the only two with seats in parliament, he said.

“They’ve had the opportunity to show voters more clearly what they stand for and what voters are supporting. Their presence on the ground, especially the WP, demonstrates that they can handle municipal issues competently,” said Assoc Prof Chong.

This makes it more difficult for the smaller parties contesting where the PSP and WP are present, as the latter two would likely be top of mind for voters looking for parties other than the PAP, he pointed out.

Singapore University of Social Sciences associate faculty Kasthuri Prameswaren was more sanguine.

"If opposition parties generally avoid three-cornered fights against one another, then the chances for these small political parties to become electorally significant and slowly establish their presence, at least in future elections, is high,” she said.

But first, after organising into blocs, the smaller parties need to actually follow through with plans instead of "paying lip service".

NUS' associate professor Bilveer Singh told CNA that smaller parties also need to focus heavily on forming their identity.

“This is an important conversation for them, especially going into a general election where the fourth generation of the PAP has just taken the reins, and younger voters form a bulk of voters,” he noted.

The political scientist added that the end goal of Singapore's opposition should be to form one of just two groups on the political landscape – with the other being the PAP.

“They must go at it together, have one leader, one manifesto and one enemy," said Assoc Prof Singh.

"Until then, the PAP's argument sticks that they are the only ones who can govern Singapore, because the opposition can't exploit the issues with one voice."

Additional reporting by Davina Tham