As Nomination Day for the Punggol East SMC by-election nears, Singapore’s political parties are beginning to lose their marbles.
A number of political parties have indicated their intention to contest in the by-election, prompting criticism from some Singaporeans who believe that a multi-cornered fight would all but guarantee a win for the incumbent People’s Action Party (PAP). Then the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) revealed that it had made overtures to the Workers’ Party (WP) – the only alternative party currently in Parliament – about the possibility of fielding a “unity candidate”.
What is a “unity candidate”, you ask? Well, according to the SDP, it means that the two parties would join forces and field one candidate together. (The SDP suggests that the candidate be from the SDP). And in the event of a win, the SDP candidate would become the newest member of parliament… while the WP runs the town council for Punggol East SMC. Full story
