PAP ‘gears up for next GE’; Heng to lead 2015 poll review

SINGAPORE — People’s Action Party (PAP) central executive committee member Heng Swee Keat will lead a committee to conduct a post-mortem of last month’s General Election (GE), party secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong said today (Oct 22).

Mr Heng will lead the ruling party’s effort to analyse what happened and draw lessons for its next campaign, for which preparations have started, added Mr Lee.

Writing on the PAP’s Facebook page, Mr Lee, who is Prime Minister, also said that yesterday the PAP’s top decision-making committee met for the first time since the GE and decided on a new line-up for the HQ Executive Committee, which looks after party administrative matters and oversees the sub-committees.

Party organising secretary and Young PAP chairman Chan Chun Sing has been appointed as chairman, taking over from Mr Teo Chee Hean.

Mr Heng will be its alternate chairman. Mr Teo, along with Mr Khaw Boon Wan and Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will be advisers.

The HQ exco’s 22 members include five new faces who were elected to Parliament for the first time — Mr Amrin Amin, Mr Chee Hong Tat, Mr Koh Poh Koon, Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Ong Ye Kung.

“We’ve brought in many new members to renew and strengthen the team,” Mr Lee said of the line-up.

The committee also has five district chairs, who are mayors of the five districts here: Ms Denise Phua, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Dr Teo Ho Pin, Dr Maliki Osman and Ms Low Yen Ling.

Mr Lee said the HQ exco will work with the PAP Members of Parliament and activists on the party’s plans and programmes.

“We will partner Singaporeans to deliver on what we have promised, improve people’s lives, and fulfil our duty to Singapore,” Mr Lee said.

The PAP romped to a landslide victory in the country’s 12th GE since Independence, reversing its performance in 2011 and winning 83 out of 89 parliamentary seats.

It improved on its showing in all constituencies, compared with the previous election four years ago, and even wrested the Punggol East Single Member Constituency from the Workers’ Party.

The ruling party garnered 69.9 per cent of the vote share — its highest since 2001 — compared to 60.1 per cent in the 2011 GE.

In more than half of the 29 constituencies contested, the PAP won by more than 70 per cent of the popular vote.