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RP to contest 3 constituencies, make way for PSP in West Coast GRC

SINGAPORE — The Reform Party (RP) will contest in three constituencies in the coming General Election (GE), secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam said on Wednesday (June 24).

Reform Party's chairman Andy Zhu (left in yellow) speaking to residents at the West Coast Market Square during the party's walkabout on June 19.

Reform Party's chairman Andy Zhu (left in yellow) speaking to residents at the West Coast Market Square during the party's walkabout on June 19.

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SINGAPORE — The Reform Party (RP) will contest in three constituencies in the coming General Election (GE), secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam said on Wednesday (June 24).

It will give up West Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC) as part of an agreement with Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s Progress Singapore Party (PSP) to avoid a multi-way fight with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

The party lost in West Coast and Ang Mo Kio GRCs and Radin Mas Single-Member Constituency (SMC) in the 2015 polls, garnering between 12.72 and 21.43 per cent of the votes.

Mr Jeyaretnam said that while RP will give up West Coast, it will continue to contest in Ang Mo Kio and Radin Mas, and take on the new Yio Chu Kang SMC. 

Yio Chu Kang was carved out of Ang Mo Kio GRC in March when electoral boundaries were redrawn for the next GE, which is set for July 10. 

Candidate nominations will happen on June 30.

“We have selected the areas we will contest based on moving aside for Dr Tan’s A team, and secondly, according to our probability of winning due to our familiarity with the ground and the familiarity of the residents with us,” Mr Jeyaretnam wrote in a Facebook post.

PSP announced on Tuesday that it would contest eight constituencies in the next GE, including West Coast GRC.

Mr Jeyaretnam said that his party had been “in long talks” with Dr Tan and PSP’s assistant secretary-general Leong Mun Wai.

Dr Tan was an ex-PAP Member of Parliament for the former Ayer Rajah seat, which was absorbed into West Coast GRC in 2006, for six consecutive terms.

Mr Jeyaretnam said: “We believe the greater cause at this moment in time is opposition unity and contesting where everyone has the greatest chance of winning seats.”

While he did not reveal details of the negotiations with PSP, he said that PSP “offered to withdraw from various grounds they were originally eyeing, in return for Reform Party ceding West Coast GRC”.

Speaking to the media after a PSP breakfast meeting at Tiong Bahru Market, Dr Tan said: "I must really thank RP for not contesting in West Coast. We all understand the implications of a three-cornered fight. So we are trying to put our differences aside so that we can contest with the PAP one-to-one."

RP last week unveiled its slate of seven potential candidates, including four who ran in the last election. It has not said which candidates would contest in the constituencies it is eyeing.

Mr Jeyaretnam said the party would announce an online press conference soon to take questions. 

Related topics

Reform Party Progress Singapore Party Kenneth Jeyaretnam SGVotes2020 Singapore General Election General Election

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