A Complete & Long Guide to All The Elections in Each GRC, Simplified for You

Today is Nomination Day – the day when politicians are treated like Hollywood celebrities by the press.

Reporter: That’s quite a smart and simple look they have going on. What are they wearing?

Co-reporter: It appears to be a plain white shirt with a tiny badge.

Reporter: And for the bottoms?

Co-reporter: It appears to be plain white pants.

Reporter: Nice.

After months of speculation, Singaporeans will finally learn who is contesting in their constituency.

Unless you’ve been avoiding the news for the past few months after being traumatised by articles about Covid-19, you’re probably aware that there will be 14 SMCs and 17 GRCs in the 2020 General Election.

Fun fact: Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) were officially introduced during the 1988 General Election because then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew feared that the minority races might eventually be underrepresented in Parliament. 

So, who’s contesting in each GRC?

Here’s a guide to the elections in all 17 GRCs this year:

Aljunied GRC (PAP vs WP) (5 Seats)

In the 2011 General Election, the Worker’s Party (WP) made electoral history with the first-ever GRC victory for any opposition party in history when they won Aljunied GRC.

They unseated the People’s Action Party (PAP) team led by then-Foreign Minister George Yeo and Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Hwee Hua.

Here’s PAP’s team for Aljunied for GE2020:

• Victor Lye 
• Alex Yeo 
• Chan Hui Yuh 
• Chua Eng Leong 
• Shamsul Kumar 

Here’s the incumbent WP‘s team:

• Pritam Singh 
• Sylvia Lim 
• Leon Perera 
• Faisal Manap 
• Gerald Giam 

In GE 2015, WP retained Aljunied GRC with 50.95 per cent of the vote. It was so close that PAP applied for a recount.

It looks set to be one of the most hotly-contested GRCs.

You can view the teams addressing their voters here:

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC (PAP vs SPP) (4 Seats)

In the last election, PAP retained the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC with a landslide victory over the Singapore People’s Party with 74% of the votes.

SPP chief Steve Chia said the party decided to reduce their target from seven seats to five for this election, in order to “avoid three-cornered fights as much as possible and also to consolidate our resources.”

One of their candidates, Melvyn Chiu, owns a pet shop and contested the 2015 general election as a member of the SingFirst party.

Here’s SPP‘s team for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC:

• Steve Chia
• Williamson Lee
• Osman Sulaiman
• Melvyn Chiu

Here’s PAP’s team:

• Ng Eng Hen
• Chee Hong Tat
• Saktiandi Supaat
• Chong Kee Hiong

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here:

Jurong GRC (PAP vs RDU) (5 Seats)

While it sounds like an amateur football team, Red Dot United (RDU) is actually the country’s youngest political party.

Formed on 26 May 2020, RDU is only fielding one team to contest in this election, including party leaders Ravi Philemon, 52, and Michelle Lee, 43 who are both former PSP members.

In 2015, PAP won the GRC with nearly 80% of the vote against Singaporeans First.

Here’s RDU’s team for Jurong GRC:

• Ravi Philemon
• Liyana Dhamirah
• Michelle Lee
• Nicholas Tang
• Alec Tok

PAP’s team includes Ivan Lim replacement and man who probably smiles in lifts, Xie Yao Quan:

• Tharman Shanmugaratnam
• Tan Wu Meng
• Rahayu Mahzam
• Shawn Huang
• Xie Yao Quan

This will be RDU’s first General Election, and PAP’s 1,218,218th General Election.

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here:

West-Coast GRC (PAP vs PSP) (5 Seats)

For GE2020, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee, 43, who moved from Jurong GRC, will be in PAP’s team for West Coast GRC as they face off against the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).

In the previous election, PAP beat the Reform Party (RP) by more than a 50,000 vote margin to retain West-Coast GRC.

This election, the PAP team for West-Coast GRC includes:

• S Iswaran
• Desmond Lee
• Ang Wei Neng
• Rachel Ong
• Foo Mee Har

PSP is also a relatively new party, founded on 28 March 2019. Their team includes:

• Tan Cheng Bock
• Hazel Poa
• Leong Wai Mun
• Jeffrey Khoo
• Nadarajah Loganathan

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 17:10):

Sengkang GRC (PAP vs WP) (4 Seats)

Sengkang GRC will see another face-off between the PAP and WP, with 4 seats up for grabs.

PAP’s team includes Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min and new face Raymond Lye, a lawyer.

As for WP’s team, three of their four candidates are taking part in their first-ever election.

Here’s PAP’s team for Sengkang GRC:

• Ng Chee Meng
• Lam Pin Min
• Amrin Amin
• Raymond Lye

Here’s WP’s team:

• Jamus Lim
• Raeesah Khan
• Louis Chua
• He Ting Ru

Sengkang GRC was formed this year, comprising the Sengkang Central ward from Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, the single seat of Punggol East, and part of Sengkang West SMC.

Observers say the unpredictability of the new GRC could lead to a close fight.

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 28:04):

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC (PAP vs SDP) (4 Seats)

PAP will be fielding the same team as they did in the last election, with the addition of new face Edward Chia, the co-founder of Timbre.

In GE 2015, the Singapore Democratic Party lost by 30,000 votes to a PAP team led by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.

Here’s PAP’s team for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC:

• Vivian Balakrishnan
• Sim Ann
• Christopher de Souza
• Edward Chia

SDP’s team sees the dramatic return of former member Tan Jee Say, who left the Singaporeans First (SingFirst) party after it was dissolved a few days ago.

Here’s SDP’s team for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC:

• James Gomez
• Min Cheong
• Alfred Tan
• Tan Jee Say

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 5:25):

Nee Soon GRC (PAP vs PSP) (5 Seats)

Some thought Nee Soon GRC would be the election’s only walkover, but then PSP swooped in to nominate five of its members.

PAP beat out WP in the previous election to win Nee Soon GRC with 66% of the vote.

PAP’s team this year includes Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam and newcomers Carrie Tan and Derrick Goh.

PSP has fielded a new team to take on PAP which includes media consultant Bradley Bowyer, 53, who was formerly a member of the PAP.

Here’s PSP’s team:

• Damien Tay
• Taufik Supan
• Kala Manickam
• S Nallakaruppan
• Brad Bowyer

Here’s PAP’s team:

• K Shanmugam
• Faishal Ibrahim
• Louis Ng
• Carrie Tan
• Derrick Goh

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 12:14):

Sembawang GRC (PAP vs NSP) (5 Seats)

After anchoring Sembawang GRC for 14 years, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan is retiring from politics.

PAP’s team for Sembawang GRC in GE2020 will see the addition of two new female candidates, Poh Li San and Mariam Jaafar.

Opposing PAP in Sembawang will be the National Solidarity Party (NSP), who lost with 27% of the votes in the last election.

They will be fielding two new faces, including Sathin Ravindran, 27, who runs a business providing car detailing services.

Here’s NSP’s team for Sembawang GRC:

• Spencer Ng
• Ivan Yeo
• Sebastian Teo
• Yadzeth Haris
• Sathin Ravindran

Here’s PAP’s team:

• Ong Ye Kung
• Lim Kwee Kiak
• Vikram Nair
• Maryam Jaafar
• Poh Li San

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 22:11):

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Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC (PAP vs SDA vs PV)

For the first time since 1992, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC will see a three-cornered fight between PAP, the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), and People’s Voice (PV).

Formed in 2018, this will be PV’s first election.

In the last election, PAP and SDA went head to head, with PAP winning 73% of the votes.

PAP’s team, which three new faces, includes:

• Teo Chee Hean
• Janil Puthucheary
• Desmond Tan
• Yeo Wan Ling
• Sharael Taha

SDA’s team, which sees two new additions, includes:

• Desmond Lim
• Harminder Pal Singh
• Abu Mohamed
• Kelvin Ong
• Kuswadi Atnawi

And finally, PV’s team includes:

• Gilbert Goh
• Mohamed Nassir Ismail
• Jireh Lim
• Prabu Ramachandran
• Vigneswari Ramachandran

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 14:32):

Tanjong Pagar GRC (PAP vs PSP) (5 Seats)

PSP may not have been able to contest in Tanjong Pagar GRC this year because, as PAP pointed out, they had not filled out which constituency they were contesting in their nomination papers.

Fortunately for them, no objections were raised even though the deadline for making changes had passed.

When asked about the mistake, PSP organising secretary Michael Chua said that PSP could also have raised some objections to PAP’s forms, which listed its candidate Eric Chua’s occupation as “retired SCDF officer”.

“So I think in that spirit of competition, we really want to give Singapore a choice of two very good teams, and for them to cast a vote for the future. It’s not about paperwork, and these very minor technicalities,” he said.

The drama has already started.

PSP’s team this year, led by Michael Chua, includes:

• Michael Chua
• Abas Kasmani
• Wendy Low
• Terence Soon
• Harish Pillay

Here’s PAP’s team, which includes Minister for Trade and Industry and cotton expert Chan Chun Sing:

• Eric Chua
• Joan Pereira
• Chan Chun Sing
• Indranee Rajah
• Alvin Tan

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 18:44):

Ang Mo Kio GRC (PAP vs RP) (5 Seats)

It’s going to be hard to compete with a team that has the country’s Prime Minister, but that’s exactly what the Reform Party (RP) plan to do.

Led by Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam, RP’s team for Ang Mo Kio GRC also includes party chairman Andy Zhu Lai Cheng.

PAP’s line-up includes two new faces, Ng Ling Ling and Nadia Samdin.

In the last election, when Ang Mo Kio GRC had 6 seats, PAP beat out RP in a landslide victory with 78% of the votes.

Here’s PAP‘s team:

• Lee Hsien Loong
• Darryl David
• Gan Thiam Poh
• Ng Ling Ling
• Nadia Samdin

Here’s RP’s team:

• Kenneth Jeyaretnam
• Andy Zhu
• Charles Yeo
• Noraini Yunus
• So Guan Soon

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here:

 Jalan Besar GRC (PAP vs PV) (4 Seats)

Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo will lead PAP’s fight against PV for Jalan Besar GRC, and will become the first female minister to helm a GRC if elected.

PV’s team will be led by secretary-general Lim Tean.

In the last two elections, PAP won by 67.7% and 58.6% of the vote, beating out WP.

WP said they wouldn’t run in Jalan Besar this year.

Here’s PAP’s team:

• Josephine Teo
• Heng Chee How
• Denise Phua
• Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah

Here’s PV’s team:

• Lim Tean
• Leong Sze Hian
• Michael Fang
• Azlan Sulaiman

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 11:40):

East Coast GRC (PAP vs WP) (5 Seats)

WP’s lineup in GE2020 will be completely different to the one fielded in the last election, featuring prominent newcomer Nicole Seah, who recently made a return to politics after contesting in the 2011 General Election when she was just 24.

PAP’s team for East Coast GRC will be led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and includes Senior Minister of State Maliki Osman.

In GE2015, PAP beat out WP with 60% of the votes, back when there were only 4 seats up for grabs.

Here’s PAP’s team:

• Heng Swee Keat
• Maliki Osman
• Jessica Tan
• Cheryl Chan
• Tan Kiat How

Here’s WP’s team:

• Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim
• Kenneth Foo
• Terence Tan
• Dylan Ng
• Nicole Seah

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 6:18):

Chua Chu Kang GRC (PAP vs PSP) (4 Seats)

Since the constituency was formed in 2011, PAP has faced three different opposition parties in as many elections, beating NSP and the People’s Power Party (PPP) in 2011 and 2015 respectively.

This year, PAP will face PSP in Chua Chu Kang GRC, led by former Hong Leong Asia chief executive and ex-Republic of Singapore Air Force colonel Francis Yuen.

PAP’s team will be helmed by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and features two new faces.

Here’s PAP’s team:

• Don Wee
• Gan Kim Yong
• Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim
• Low Yen Ling

Here’s PSP’s team:

• Choo Shaun Ming
• Tan Meng Wah
• Francis Yuen
• Abdul Rahman Mohamad

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 9:47):

Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC (PAP vs SDP)

National Development Minister and the person we tune in to for good news about Covid-19 restrictions, Lawrence Wong, will lead PAP’s team in a straight fight against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in Marsling-Yew Tee GRC.

PAP’s team also includes Minister of State for Manpower and National Development Zaqy Mohammad and newcomer Hany Soh.

SDP’s team features Bryan Lim Boon Heng and Damanhuri Abas, two candidates who contested in the 2015 GE against PAP in the same GRC.

PAP won with 68% of the votes then.

Here’s PAP’s line-up:

• Lawrence Wong
• Zaqy Mohamad
• Alex Yam
• Hany Soh

Here’s SDP’s line-up:

• Bryan Lim
• Damanhuri Abas
• Benjamin Pwee
• Khung Wai Yeen

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 4:25):

Marine Parade GRC (PAP vs WP) (5 Seats)

• Ron Tan
• Yee Jenn Jong
• Fadli Fawzi
• Azhar Latip
• Nathaniel Koh

PAP’s team includes:

• Tan Chuan-Jin
• Seah Kian Peng
• Edwin Tong
• Tan See Leng
• Fahmi Aliman

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 11:55):

Tampines GRC (PAP vs NSP) (5 Seats)

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli will lead PAP’s team to defend Tampines GRC against NSP in GE2020.

NSP’s line-up includes party president Reno Fong Chin, while PAP’s team features Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon.

In the last election PAP won 72% of the votes, beating NSP by a nearly 60,000 vote margin.

PAP’s team will include:

• Cheng Li Hui
• Masagos Zulkifli
• Desmond Choo
• Koh Poh Koon
• Baey Yam Keng

NSP’s line-up will include:

• Reno Fong
• Mohd Ridzwan Mohammad
• Yeo Ren-Yuan
• Choong Hon Heng
• Vincent Ng

You can watch the teams addressing the voters here (from 5:33):

As you can see, neither Ooi Boon Ewe and Sherwin Eu are on the list.

Maybe next time?

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