Punggol East Single Member Constituency

Punggol East
Single Member Constituency
for the Parliament of Singapore
Region Northeastern Singapore
Electorate 34,466
Current constituency
Created 2011
Member(s) Charles Chong
Town Council Pasir Ris-Punggol
Not to be confused with the pre-independence era ward in Punggol and Hougang areas called the Punggol Member Constituency which was formed prior to 1959 general elections by carving out a portion of the then-defunct Punggol-Tampines SMC, which lasted until prior to 1991 general elections when that ward was absorbed into the then defunct Cheng San GRC.

Punggol East Single Member Constituency (Chinese: 榜鹅东单选区; Malay: Kawasan Undi Perseorangan Punggol East; Tamil: பொங்கோல் ஈஸ்ட் தனித்தொகுதி) is a Single Member Constituency located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. Despite its name, the ward does not cover the town of Punggol but rather its boundaries span the eastern areas of Sengkang. This ward has been carved out during the 2011's General Election and was formerly a ward from the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

On 12 December 2012, then MP for Punggol East SMC, Michael Palmer resigned after an extramarital affair was revealed.[1] A by-election was held on 26 January 2013, and Lee Li Lian of the Workers' Party was elected as MP.[2]

During the 2015 general elections, PAP's Charles Chong won in Punggol East SMC, replacing Lee Li Lian as MP for the constituency.[3]

2011 general election

In the 2011 general elections, the constituency saw a 3-cornered contest, the only such in the election; this phenomenon was last seen in the 2001 general elections in the then Bukit Timah SMC. Desmond Lim of the Singapore Democratic Alliance secured a mere 4.45% of the votes in Punggol East SMC, against PAP's Michael Palmer and Workers' Party's Lee Li Lian. This is the lowest percentage of votes a candidate has garnered in the 2011's General Election. As a result, he was the only candidate of the island-wide election to have his election deposit forfeited.

2013 by-election contest

On 10 January 2013, PAP unveiled their candidate for the by-election: Dr Koh Poh Koon, a 40-year-old colorectal surgeon from Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. Opposition party Workers' Party nominated Lee Li Lian to contest. She previously contested in 2011's General Election where she garnered 41% of eligible votes, losing to Palmer in that year. Singapore Democratic Alliance fielded Desmond Lim Bak Chuan as its candidate; he also contested in 2011's General Election, and was the only candidate to have lost his deposit of SGD$16,000 during that election, having garnered only 4.5% of the votes. Kenneth Jeyaretnam from Reform Party was the last to be fielded in. The Singapore Democratic Party originally wanted to stand but pulled out on the eve of Nomination Day.

There were 2 rounds of rallies in this by-election, Workers' Party's rally drew the most audiences amounting to over 5,000 and 12,000 audiences, with Singapore Democratic Alliance using the social media and technology to draw audiences via a series of videos posted to YouTube.

During the vote counting, Desmond Lim from Singapore Democratic Alliance officially conceded defeat.[4]

Reform Party's Kenneth Jeyaretnam and Singapore Democratic Alliance's Desmond Lim Bak Chuan both lost their election deposit in this by-election. Lim was the only 1 candidate to date whom as lost his deposit twice.

Lee Li Lian of the Workers' Party, won the by-election with 16,045 votes, with 54.50% of valid votes. She sworn in at the Parliament on 4 February 2013, and held her Meet-The-People session on the same day.[5]

Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament Party Dates Notes
Michael Palmer PAP 2011–2012 Resigned after an extramarital affair came to light, precipitating the Punggol-East by-election
Lee Li Lian WP 2013–2015
Charles Chong PAP 2015– Incumbent

Candidates and results

Elections in 2010s

General Election 2015: Punggol East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP Charles Chong 16,957 51.76 -2.78
WP Lee Li Lian 15,801 48.24 +7.23
Majority 1,156 3.52
Rejected ballots 379 1.14 -0.26
Turnout 33,137 96.14 +1.83
Registered electors 34,466
PAP gain from WP Swing
By-Election 2013: Punggol East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
WP Lee Li Lian 16,045 54.50 +13.49
PAP Koh Poh Koon 12,875 43.73 -10.81
Reform Kenneth Jeyaretnam (Loses deposit) 353 1.20 N/A
SDA Desmond Lim Bak Chuan (Loses deposit) 168 0.57 -3.88
Margin of victory 3,170 10.77 -2.76
Rejected ballots 418 1.40 -0.3
Turnout 29,859 94.31 -0.99
Registered electors 31,659
WP gain from PAP Swing +12.15
General Election 2011: Punggol East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP Michael Palmer 16,994 54.54 N/A
WP Lee Li Lian 12,777 41.01 N/A
SDA Desmond Lim Bak Chuan (Loses deposit) 1,387 4.45 N/A
Turnout 31,709 95.3 N/A
PAP win (new seat)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer resigns over "grave mistake"". Channel NewsAsia. December 12, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ "WP's Lee wins Punggol East by-election". Channel NewsAsia. January 26, 2013.
  3. ↑ Sim, Royston (12 September 2015). "GE2015: PAP's Charles Chong wins Punggol East SMC with 51.76 per cent of votes". The Straits Times. SPH. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "SDA's Lim concedes defeat". Channel NewsAsia. 26 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "WP's Lee Li Lian holds first Meet-the-People session". Channel NewsAsia. February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.

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