GE2025: PAP wins 58.76% of votes against WP in East Coast, takes Mountbatten with 63.84%

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SINGAPORE – The PAP has retained East Coast GRC with 58.76 per cent of the vote, in a closely watched match-up against the WP.

The ruling party also kept its hold on the single seat of Mountbatten.

In East Coast, the PAP’s vote share is up from 2020’s, when it won 53.39 per cent. This is the fifth election in a row that it has faced down the WP in East Coast GRC.

Of the 135,576 valid votes cast on May 3 for East Coast GRC, 79,664 went to the PAP. A total of 1,565 votes were rejected.

The PAP team was led by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, 55, alongside incumbents Senior Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How, 47, and Deputy Speaker Jessica Tan, 58.

The team also included new faces – former non-profit chief executive Hazlina Abdul Halim, 40, and former Agency for Integrated Care chief executive Dinesh Vasu Dash, 50.

The PAP’s opponents were led by a WP stalwart, former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, 60.

The WP’s team included IT professional Nathaniel Koh, 41, and three new faces – former US Navy security administrator Paris V. Parameswari, 51; lawyer Sufyan Mikhail Putra, 33; and payments expert Jasper Kuan, 46.

In the watershed 2011 election, which saw the WP win a GRC for the first time, Mr Yee lost in Joo Chiat SMC by 388 votes – or 2.04 per cent – and was appointed an Non-Constituency MP for that term of Parliament.

Speaking to WP supporters at Serangoon Stadium in the early hours of May 4, Mr Yee said: “We respect the result, although it is not what we desire, and we wish the best to the PAP team led by Mr Tong to continue the work in East Coast.”

“Saying goodbye is always very difficult, but at some point in time, goodbyes have to be said – and that is for me personally,” he added, choking up as he thanked his team and supporters.

Speaking at Bedok Stadium at about 2am, Mr Tong thanked outgoing East Coast MPs – Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Dr Maliki Osman and Ms Cheryl Chan – and said he would build on their work.

“All those who did not vote for us, we hear you, we respect you. But we will work even harder to be even better to serve you and win your trust and confidence the next time round,” said Mr Tong.

He later told reporters that the result represented confidence in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s team, and his vision and bold plans.

In GE2020, DPM Heng led the PAP team to a narrow win in

East Coast GRC

with a vote share of 53.4 per cent. It was the second-closest winning margin for the PAP in that election.

DPM Heng, 64, had

announced his retirement

on Nomination Day on April 23.

Asked about the results at Bedok Stadium just before midnight on May 3, DPM Heng said Singaporeans were giving PM Wong “a strong mandate” amid major global turbulence. It was also a signal to the world that Singaporeans remain united, he said.

Mountbatten SMC

In neighbouring Mountbatten, PAP new face Gho Sze Kee, 46, retained the seat for her party with 63.84 per cent of the vote. She beat independent candidate Jeremy Tan, 34, a retired business owner.

For Mountbatten, 19,590 valid votes were cast on May 3, of which 12,507 went to PAP and 473 votes were rejected.

Mr Tan’s suggested policies centred on removing Housing Board flats from being used as retirement assets and using Government funds to invest in Bitcoin.

Ms Gho, a maritime lawyer, had succeeded Mr Lim Biow Chuan – who retired after having served for four terms. She has been a PAP activist since 2012 and the party’s Bukit Timah branch secretary since December 2020.

Having walked the ground in Mountbatten with outgoing MP Mr Lim over the past 10 months, Ms Gho said previously that she had not been parachuted into the constituency.

Speaking to supporters at Bedok Stadium at around 1am on May 4, she thanked Mountbatten residents for allowing her to serve them. “Going forward, you will see that I will pound the ground. I will work as hard as I can for you,” she said.

Ms Gho paid tribute to Mr Lim and said she would continue his legacy of hard work in Mountbatten. She also thanked her opponent, Mr Tan, for stepping up to run in the election and giving residents a chance to vote.

She said at her rally on April 30 that her team has already mapped out improvements to the estate, such as constituency sports clubs, career help, mental health support, childcare slots, connectivity improvements and dog runs.

In GE2020, Mr Lim, 61,

secured 73.82 per cent of the vote

in Mountbatten SMC. It was the second best-performing SMC in that election.

He had beaten first-time candidate Sivakumaran Chellappa, 57, of the Peoples Voice party.