GE2020: PAP retains East Coast GRC with 53.41% of votes
The candidates for East Coast GRC (L to R) Cheryl Chan, Tan Kiat How, Heng Swee Keat, Maliki Osman and Jessica Tan closing the walkabout on Jul 3, 2020 infront of Simei MRT station.
SINGAPORE: The People's Action Party (PAP) has held on to East Coast GRC in the 2020 General Election, winning 53.41 per cent of votes.
The Workers’ Party (WP) team got 46.59 per cent of the votes cast.
GE2020 live: Singapore voters head to the ballot box on Polling Day
Led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, the five-member PAP team comprises Mr Maliki Osman, Ms Cheryl Chan, Ms Jessica Tan and new face Mr Tan Kiat How.
Mr Heng had left Tampines GRC to anchor East Coast GRC, replacing former Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say who is retiring from politics. It was a surprise move, as Mr Heng’s candidacy in East Coast was only revealed late on the morning of Nomination Day.
Speaking to reporters after the results were announced, Mr Heng said: "My team and I thank you for your trust and support for us. With your mandate, we are determined to serve you better and to emerge stronger from this global pandemic crisis.
"We'll reach out to better understand your concerns and aspirations and work together with you to realise our East Coast plan to build a more vibrant, caring and green community."
In a Facebook post, Mr Heng had earlier said that the PAP cannot afford a “succession gap” in East Coast GRC in uncertain times.
The constituency is a traditional battleground between PAP and WP, with the opposition fielding Mr Terence Tan, Mr Dylan Tan and Mr Kenneth Foo, Ms Nicole Seah, as well as new face Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim this election.
The lineup is entirely different from the team it fielded for the 2015 General Election, but party chief Pritam Singh had said that Mr Heng’s move to East Coast meant that the PAP regarded the WP’s slate for East Coast as “a very strong one”.
"We went into this knowing that it was going to be a tough fight. And we gave it our best, and we gave it all for all of you," said Ms Seah in a video on Facebook after the results were announced.
"The votes and the encouragement that we received showed us that a very large part of East Coast GRC voters do want to see more fairness in our political system."
In 2011, it was a close contest in East Coast, with the PAP retaining the constituency with 54.8 per cent of votes – the worst-performing GRC won by the PAP that year.
In 2015, the PAP won by a bigger margin of 60.7 per cent of the vote.
Previously a four-member GRC, East Coast reabsorbed Fengshan SMC this General Election and is now a five-member constituency with 121,772 eligible voters.
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