SDP not contesting Punggol East by—election

SINGAPORE: In a surprising twist of events, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) says it will not contest the Punggol East by—election on January 26.

It announced this at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Just Monday night, the SDP said it will go ahead with plans to contest the by—election.

On Tuesday, party chief Dr Chee Soon Juan said Singaporeans had signalled clearly they didn’t want a multi—cornered fight in the by—election.

Dr Chee said this is the general feedback the party has received from netizens and members of the public.

"In politics, it’s equally important to listen as it is to speak. We note the genuine concern that the PAP may get returned if there is a split in the opposition support between the SDP and WP (Workers’ Party). For this reason, we are stepping aside," he said.

Dr Chee said the majority of SDP’s central executive committee members decided against contesting the by—election.

He said the decision was made only on Tuesday morning, when the party realised that it was no longer possible to avoid a multi—cornered fight.

SDP’s announcement on Tuesday ended days of speculation that the party was keen to field either 42—year—old lecturer Dr Vincent Wijeysingha or 47—year—old Dr Paul Tambyah in the by—election.

Video

on Dr Chee explaining why the SDP is not contesting the by—election.

— CNA/xq/ir