Four-party fight looms as SDP stages late pull-out

SINGAPORE — Ahead of Nomination Day today, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) sprang a major surprise yesterday by pulling out of the race at the eleventh hour. On Monday, the party had said that it would unveil its candidate at yesterday’s press conference.

Despite the SDP dropping out of the contest, the by-election is set to be a four-cornered fight. Reform Party Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam and Singapore Democratic Alliance Secretary-General Desmond Lim confirmed that they will file their nomination papers.

They are set to square off against People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate Koh Poh Koon and Workers’ Party candidate Lee Li Lian.

Flanked by several SDP members, party chief Chee Soon Juan announced the shock U-turn at a press conference near the party’s Upper Thomson headquarters, where he was expected to introduce the SDP’s candidate.

Explaining the pull-out, Dr Chee said the SDP had “listened to the people” and did not want to dilute the Opposition vote. “Singaporeans have signalled clearly that they do not want to see a three-cornered contest in Punggol East, which may dilute the vote and allow a People’s Action Party win,” he said. “We hear their voices and we have heeded them.”

He added that he did not think that the withdrawal would undermine the party’s credibility.

“If anything, it would signal that we are concerned about the people’s voices, the people’s views,” he said.

The announcement was greeted cautiously by most of the other parties that have decided to contest, as they stressed that they were focused on their own campaigns.

PAP candidate Koh Poh Koon said that “every party has to decide what’s best for their cause”.

“So I think it’s a decision that is entirely their own,” he added.

WP Chairman Sylvia Lim said: “We respect every political party’s right and decision to contest, or not.”

Mr Lim noted that the SDP “has its reasons”. He added that while the SDP’s pull-out could increase his share of the vote, he would still give it his all.

Mr Jeyaretnam, however, criticised the SDP’s rationale for dropping out of the race as “ridiculous”.

“I believe in competition. I see no difference in backroom deals to restrict choice of the voters and rigging price in cartel — that’s illegal,” said Mr Jeyaretnam.

On Monday night, word was going around that the SDP could withdraw from the contest, despite Dr Chee telling reporters that they intended to contest and would introduce the party’s candidate at a press conference the following day.

Dismissing rumours that the party’s Central Executive Committee had voted against contesting in the by-election, Dr Chee said the party made the “collective” decision yesterday morning.

Among other things, the SDP considered the WP’s rejection of its proposal — which was also heavily criticised by observers and netizens — to have a joint candidate, Dr Chee said.

As proof the party’s original intent to contest, reporters were shown the election posters — which were delivered on Monday evening to the SDP headquarters — of SDP Treasurer Vincent Wijeysingha and infectious diseases expert Paul Ananth Tambyah. One of them was supposed to be the candidate. Dr Tambyah said his friends and colleagues had dissuaded him from contesting, as it would dilute the Opposition vote. Both Dr Wijeysingha and Dr Tambyah said they were disappointed at the pull-out but they supported the decision.

Party members told TODAY that there were already doubts in some of their minds about the party throwing its hat into the ring. A party member, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that he expressed disagreement with the decision to contest at the meeting on Monday.

Psychiatrist Ang Yong Guan, who was earlier touted as one of the SDP’s possible candidates, wrote on Facebook that the SDP’s withdrawal “will pave the way for WP to defeat PAP”. Dr Ang also urged other prospective candidates to think twice as “they may lose their (election) deposits”.

Speaking to TODAY, Dr Ang, however, said he had not shared his views with party leaders on the SDP’s original decision to contest, as he stayed clear of the party’s discussions on this matter after deciding that he would not put himself forward.

On the SDP dropping out, Singapore Management University law lecturer Eugene Tan said: “Elections are ultimately a numbers game. If their plans to contest didn’t gain traction, it’d be better to sit out this round rather than to risk the possibility that the results could turn out rather badly for them.”

National University of Singapore political scientist Hussin Mutalib felt that the SDP would have stood little chance of winning in a multi-cornered fight. By pulling out, the SDP could also send the signal that it is “thinking more of Opposition unity and victory than its own”, he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Koh, who spoke to reporters yesterday before attending a dinner organised by a temple in Punggol East, reiterated that the residents were concerned about their “day-to-day living”, having spoken to them in the last few days. He added that his key focus would be on “solving residents’ immediate needs and, of course, if national issues do crop up, we’ll have to address them”.

On his WP opponent, Dr Koh said: “Li Lian has had experience in previous elections ... But for me, that has never really been something I think too much about. I have been working hard on the ground the last few days and the residents have warmed up to me.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TAN WEIZHEN