SINGAPORE — Opposition party Singaporeans First (SingFirst) has been dissolved, its secretary-general Tan Jee Say said on Thursday (June 25).

In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Tan said that the party came to this decision because it felt that a strong opposition would be best achieved with consolidation.

“This decision was not made lightly, but we believe that this move is in the best interests of Singapore,” he said, adding that the party’s central executive committee is encouraging its members to join other parties that reflect their beliefs and values, to help them in the coming General Election (GE).

Singapore will be heading to the polls on July 10 and political parties have to submit the names of the candidates they are fielding on June 30, which is Nomination Day.

Mr Tan said that SingFirst had worked hard with other opposition parties to foster greater unity and cooperation in recent months, which was always the guiding principle of the party.

They abided by this principle by choosing to avoid three-cornered fights in the GE2015, he noted.

“Since then, we have worked tirelessly to continue upholding the spirit of opposition unity. We have redirected quite a few people who wanted to join us to other parties. Also, some ex-members are now active in different parties,” Mr Tan said.

SingFirst was formed in August 2014 by Mr Tan, a former civil servant who ran in the Presidential Election in 2011 but lost to Dr Tony Tan.

The party fielded 10 candidates in GE2015, contesting in Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and Tanjong Pagar GRC. They lost both GRCs against the incumbent People’s Action Party.

SingFirst was in talks with three other political parties — Reform Party (RP), People's Power Party (PPP), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — to form a coalition earlier this year.

However, the party later opted to form an opposition bloc with the Singapore Democratic Alliance, but that arrangement did not materialise either.

Instead, PPP, RP, SingFirst and DPP will be part of an informal alliance with one another, PPP’s secretary-general Goh Meng Seng said to the media earlier this week.