Possible three-way fight at Punggol East SMC
Yahoo! Singapore dives into the heartlands to find out first-hand what the key issues will be during the General Elections. In the last of a five-part series of video reports, JEANETTE TAN ventures into Punggol East to speak to voters and determine the political sentiment on the ground.
Freshly carved out of the Pasir Ris-Punggol group representation constituency (GRC) is Singapore's largest single-member constituency (SMC) -- Punggol East -- comprising more than 33,200 electors.
Its introduction has triggered a strong interest among political parties here, with the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Workers' Party (WP) reportedly poised to contest in the single-seat ward, signalling a potential three-cornered fight among competing candidates for the residents' majority vote.
Residents in the area whom Yahoo! Singapore spoke to seemed to be looking forward to the competition.
Undergraduate Tan Weijian, 23 is pleased that Punggol East is now an SMC.
"I'm quite against the GRC system, to be honest. To me, the traditional purpose of having a GRC for the ethnic quota has been diluted," he said.
He also believes that its incumbent Member of Parliament Michael Palmer could be given a run for his money, if he were to contest in the ward, given the strength of the potential contest he will likely face in this year's election.
"My choice to vote will depend on what the candidates can present," he added.
Other residents felt that a three-way fight will serve to be detrimental to the opposition. While property agent Willie Nua hopes that the opposition will gain a stronger voice through the coming election, he had reservations on whether the parties will succeed if it came down to a three-cornered contest.
"I think if it does come down to a three-way fight, the People's Action Party will win. A three-way fight will almost definitely work against the opposition's favour," he said.
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