Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Will PM Lee call for more than one by-election?
Is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong planning something more than just a by-election at Hougang?
Former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock raised questions on Sunday as to why the prime minister has not yet called for a by-election to be held in Hougang after the seat in the single member constituency (SMC) was left vacant due to the Workers’ Party expulsion of Yaw Shin Leong in February.
In his latest blog post, Tan speculated that “a possible strategy (for PM Lee) would be to call for a by-election in his Ang Mo Kio (AMK) ward together with Hougang constituency”.
“This will be very interesting as the politics of voting will change, especially if PM promises the people of Hougang that Hougang will be part of his Town Council,” he noted.
“Ang Mo Kio residents voted convincingly for him and his team in 2011, how will they feel about being put to the test again?” Tan questioned. “Will PM be prepared to take this risk?”
However, the veteran politician also highlighted that PM Lee is “unlikely to lose AMK (even if he loses Hougang) but he would have strengthened his cabinet”.
“On the other hand, he may have a better chance of winning Hougang by selling the idea of bringing Hougang into his Town Council,” Tan added.
In 1992, a by-election was called in the Marine Parade group representation constituency (GRC) by then-PM Goh Chok Tong to induct Teo Chee Hean into politics, a move Tan called “a clever strategy”. The full team had quit then, which was and remains the requirement for a by-election to be held in a GRC.
The timing of such an election lies in the hands of the PM.
Rumours have been rife online that 1992 may repeat itself this year.
Several local media reports have speculated that Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Seng Han Thong is considering retiring from politics and PM Lee may take the chance to bring in NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Ong Ye Kung into Parliament.
Law professors Thio Li-ann and Kevin Tan of the National University of Singapore told Yahoo! Singapore that by-elections at Ang Mo Kio GRC and Hougang SMC can be held at the same time.
Said Thio, “Should Mr Seng choose to leave politics, he could either (a) resign from the PAP or (b) resign his seat in Parliament by writing a note to the Speaker and retain his PAP membership.”
“Once a seat is vacated, the PM then has the power or liberty to call a by-election as regulated by the Parliamentary Elections Act,” she added.
Meanwhile, Kevin Tan said, "However, if (one is) suggesting that they will hold the election by enlarging AMK to incorporate Hougang, that is another matter.
“Technically, this will require a report from the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee which can, of course, recommend the merger of these two constituencies into a 6-man GRC for by-election.”
Tan, however, expressed doubt that this would happen as “the PM might risk a defeat after being best performer in the last GE.”
The law professor also dismissed another rumour about the merging of the two councils without a by-election, which he pointed out is not possible “due to section 3(1)(b) of the Town Councils Act which requires the elected MP to agree”.
But speculations may just remain that, it seems.
When contacted, PAP MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC Inderjit Singh said that he has not heard Seng, whom he had spoken to just a few days ago, “say anything about retiring from politics”.
“At this stage there are no indications to us in Ang Mo Kio from the PM that he will be calling for a by-election,” he added. “We have not started any activities to prepare for a by-election.”
