These Are the 5 GRCs / SMCs That Will Have a Tight Contest in GE2025

By
George Yang
-
Advertisements
 

Now that we’re heading to the polls in less than a week, let’s look at the Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) that will have a close fight in Singapore’s General Election 2025.

If you refer to watch a video about this instead, you can watch this:

Punggol GRC

This GRC is already seen as one that’ll be hotly contested, mainly due to one fact: it’s new, and it has many young people. Over half of the voters are between 21 to 45 years old. This is pretty similar to Sengkang GRC’s demographics, and we all know what happened in GE2020.

Advertisements
 

“But in 2020, there was Jamus Lim and his famous televised debate,” you might say. Well, just wait until you see who’s in the opposition in Punggol GRC.

Workers’ Party has sent a team here, and it’s not just any team – it’s their A team. This includes their star catch, Harpreet Singh, a Senior Counsel that many thought would be contesting in Marine-Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, but he eventually went to Punggol GRC instead.

Then there’s Alexis Dang. While she might not be a Harvard-educated professor or someone who has said things like “warm the cockles of my heart,” she has been winning hearts. The 39-year-old looks like a Mediacorp Ah Jie with her elegant appearance. If you don’t believe in her popularity, just look at her introduction video on YouTube: it has clocked over 100k views in less than two days, much more than other WP candidates.

I know we’re voting for an MP and not Miss Singapore, but research has shown that sometimes voters vote with their eyes instead of their minds. It’s said that “voters who lack detailed information about candidates yet view their photos on the ballot tend to view attractive candidates as possessing qualities associated with successful politicians.”

With Harpreet Singh and Alexis Dang, it’s going to be a tough fight, but here’s the thing: in a last-minute move, DPM Gan Kim Yong was switched from Chua Chu Kang GRC to Punggol GRC.

If you want to stay up late for the results, this is the GRC to look at.

Tampines GRC

Next will be a GRC that no one expected to be close.

he GRC has often been a stronghold for the incumbent government, and since 2011, it has always been a contest between PAP and NSP.

Advertisements
 

But all that changed recently. About two years ago, the WP started to walk the area. In February, PPP said they wanted to contest there. And NSP, which has contested in the area since 2011, expressed their interest, too.

Therefore, before Nomination Day, it was merely one GRC that’d likely see a multi-cornered fight, and we were just keen to see how much deposit would be lost.

But no: all of a sudden, it turned out that WP is putting not one, but two star candidates here. They’re IMH psychologist Dr. Ong Lue Ping and Harvard-educated Michael Thng. Not only that, but incumbent Aljunied GRC MP Faisal Manap would lead the team there.

If you think about it, it’ll be as strong as the Punggol team, or maybe even stronger. However, their votes might be diluted by the other opposition parties, as PPP and NSP have also joined in the fight, making this a four-way fight.

West-Coast-Jurong-West GRC

The next would be one that has been a close fight since GE2020. This is pretty clear-cut: PSP has sent its A-Team here, which includes 85-year-old Dr. Tan Cheng Bock. This is a new GRC which is carved out from West Coast GRC and Jurong GRC.

Advertisements
 

Back in GE2020, West Coast GRC had the narrowest winning margin, making the PSP the best-performing losing party, and that earned them two NCMP seats in Parliament. That means two of their members got plenty of air-time in Parliament.

Bukit Panjang SMC

In Bukit Panjang SMC, it has always been a PAP vs SDP battle since it was carved out from the Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC, and PAP had always won by over 65% until GE2020.

In GE2020, SDP’s star candidate, professor of infectious disease Dr. Paul Tambyah, fought in the SMC, and lost. But he gained 46.26% of the vote, so the margin is just 7.46%, the lowest amongst all the SMCs contested during that election.

In GE2025, it’s confirmed going to be a rematch, and with both candidates having walked the ground for the last five years, and with both candidates being very credible and strong, living in Bukit Panjang is like your colleague asking whether you want to eat rice or noodles for lunch: it’s going to be a hard choice.

Sembawang West SMC

Sembawang West SMC would’ve been another SMC that we forgot about until SDP’s chief, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, decided to contest there, after his usual battleground, Bukit Batok SMC, was absorbed into a GRC.

Advertisements
 

With his solid 45.20% showing in Bukit Batok SMC during GE2020, and his very strong presence, this is definitely an SMC to watch.

These GRCs & SMCs will have the toughest fights in GE2025; here’s why:

Read Also:


 
George Yang
Email: [email protected]