Singapore: Workers’ Party stuns PAP in by-election

The Workers’ Party has upset the PAP in the Punggol East by-election, its candidate polling 54 per cent of the votes cast. Check out the wild celebrations by WP supporters.

It appears that the wave of pro-reform sentiment continues to sweep the region. Look at what’s happening in the Philippines, Burma, Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore, like Malaysia, also has a problem of wide income inequalities.

Results:
Ms Lee Li Lian (Workers’ Party) – 16038 votes (54.5 per cent of the valid votes)
Dr Koh Poh Koon (PAP) – 12856 (43.7 per cent)
Kenneth Jeyaretnam (Reform Party) – 353 (1.2 per cent)
Desmond Lim (Singapore Democratic Alliance) – 168 (0.6 per cent)
Rejected votes – 417
Total votes cast – 29832

Jeyaretnam and Lim lost their S$14500 election deposit as they received less than 12.5 per cent of the votes cast.

It is a massive swing to the Workers’ Party and a completely reversal of the general election in 2011, when the PAP candidate bagged 54.5 per cent of the popular vote.

A close-up of the celebrations:

The Workers’ Party post-victory press conference:

- anilnetto