The People's Action Punggol candidate Koh Poh Koon addressed Punggol East voters in various languages at the Nomination Centre, marking the start of his campaign for the single-seat ward.

"My supporters of Punggol East, let us work together... to make a better Punggol East!" He told the crowd gathered at North Vista Secondary School.

He repeated the same message in Malay and Mandarin, and in the dialect Teochew too, punching his fists in the air.

The battle for Punggol East has begun and it is a four-cornered fight, the first such contest in a parliamentary election since 1997.

The four candidates are Dr Koh Poh Koon of the PAP, Ms Lee Li Lian of the Workers' Party, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam of the Reform Party and Mr Desmond Lim of the Singapore Democratic Alliance.

The two independents that turned up, Mr Zeng Guoyan and Mr Ooi Boon Ewe, both left without filing their papers.

This is Singapore's second by-election in a year. It takes place just eight months after the last was held in the single member constituency (SMC) of Hougang.

Punggol East SMC fell vacant after former Speaker of Parliament and MP for the ward Michael Palmer resigned on 12 December 2012 after confessing to an extramarital affair.

There are some 32,000 voters in Punggol East SMC and Polling Day has been set for Jan 26.