SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party (WP) will contest five group representation constituency (GRCs) and five single-member constituency (SMCs) in the next general election, party chairman Sylvia Lim told The Straits Times.
Other than Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC which are currently held by WP, the party will also field candidates in East Coast, Jalan Besar, Nee Soon and Marine Parade GRCs, as well as Fengshan, MacPherson and Sengkang West SMCs.
WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang had, earlier on Sunday (July 26), said the WP would contest Marine Parade GRC and MacPherson SMC.
Speaking to reporters at a walkabout in Punggol East, Mr Low said the party had been working the ground in Marine Parade GRC as well as Joo Chiat SMC, which will be absorbed into Marine Parade. MacPherson has been carved out of Marine Parade by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, whose report was released on Friday.
"As a matter of principle, the Workers' Party will contest where we have contested before," he said.
"In this case, Joo Chiat is being redrawn into Marine Parade. We don't want to disappoint voters in Joo Chiat. We want to offer them a choice again in this election," he said.
The WP's Yee Jenn Jong lost Joo Chiat to the PAP's Charles Chong by 388 votes in the 2011 general election.
The WP had contested in East Coast GRC in 2011, and Fengshan SMC has been carved out of that area.
It also contested Moulmein-Kallang GRC, a large part of which is now in Jalan Besar GRC, as well as Nee Soon GRC and Sengkang West SMC.
Leaders and members of opposition parties were out on walkabouts across the island on Sunday morning, stepping up activity as the general election draws nearer.
WP members were out in both single seats held by the party.
Mr Low joined Punggol East SMC incumbent Lee Li Lian in her constituency to greet residents and sell copies of the party's newsletter, The Hammer.
Hougang SMC incumbent Png Eng Huat was in his constituency where he was joined by Non-Constituency MP Gerald Giam, who is likely to be part of the WP team in East Coast GRC.
The National Solidarity Party's (NSP) leaders were out in Tampines GRC, where a team from the party contested in 2011.
A team from the Singaporeans First Party was also on a walkabout in the constituency, where the new party has said it also hopes to contest.
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), meanwhile, was on a walkabout in Bukit Batok, where a new SMC has been formed. The SDP says it wants to contest the seat. It is in the area where the party's former chair Ling How Doong once held the former Bukit Gombak seat from 1991 to 1997.
The NSP said it has invited the opposition parties to a meeting on Friday to discuss where they will contest. Such meetings have traditionally been held ahead of the election in a bid to challenge the ruling PAP in all seats and to avoid three-corner fights.
Several opposition members also hope that the nine parties can contest all 89 seats between them.
