GE2025: PAP’s Alex Yeo wins three-way fight for Potong Pasir with 69.18% of votes

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SINGAPORE – A PAP candidate who was once fielded in the WP stronghold of Aljunied has clinched a strong solo victory in Potong Pasir SMC, in his first contest in the seat.

Mr Alex Yeo won a three-cornered fight for the single-member constituency, fending off Singapore People’s Party (SPP) treasurer Williiamson Lee and People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR) secretary-general Lim Tean.

Mr Yeo received 19,185 votes, or 69.18 per cent – an improvement of about 9 percentage points for the ruling party compared with the 2020 General Election, where it garnered 60.67 per cent of the vote.

Of the remaining votes, 6,230, or 22.47 per cent, went to Mr Lee, while Mr Lim had 2,316 votes, or 8.35 per cent.

Mr Yeo, 46, replaces PAP stalwart Sitoh Yih Pin, who has stepped down after serving three terms in the single seat since 2011. 

This is Mr Yeo’s second election – he was part of the PAP slate for Aljunied GRC at the 2020 polls.

The lawyer, who is married with two children, served as branch chair of the Paya Lebar ward in Aljunied GRC, which has been held by the WP since 2011.

In a speech following his victory, Mr Yeo thanked Potong Pasir residents for the mandate, adding that it will not be taken lightly.

He said: “We know that this is a heavy responsibility, and we will carry it through the next five years, and we will make sure that we deliver every single promise we make.”

Mr Yeo acknowledged the work of his team in fighting a “very clean, hard, sincere campaign”. He also thanked two mentors – Mr Sitoh and former Cabinet minister Lim Boon Heng, who advises the PAP’s Aljunied team – for giving him advice and guidance over the years.

Speaking to The Straits Times, SPP’s Mr Lee, 45, congratulated Mr Yeo on his win.

“Three-cornered fights are never easy,” Mr Lee said. “Of course, I will come back stronger.”

The businessman added that SPP will continue to walk the ground in Potong Pasir.

In a statement, PAR’s Mr Lim, 60, said the results of the election were disappointing not just for his party, but for the entire opposition.

Mr Lim, a lawyer by profession, said PAR will “re-organise” and “come back much stronger” for the next election.

PAR was formed in November 2024, comprising four parties aiming to strengthen opposition unity.

It became a grouping of three when the People’s Power Party withdrew in February 2025 over irreconcilable strategic differences.

Potong Pasir is a former opposition stronghold that was held by Mr Chiam See Tong for 27 years before he left to contest a GRC in 2011.

Mr Sitoh won the seat that year by a razor-thin margin of 114 votes.

He went on to defend his seat successfully against the SPP at the 2015 polls, winning 66.39 per cent of the vote, and again at the 2020 polls, garnering 60.67 per cent.

In the 2020 General Election, the constituency had just 18,551 voters.

Today, the number has surged to 30,971 – a 67 per cent jump – according to data released by the Elections Department.

About 61.5 per cent of its residents are aged 45 and below, compared with about 54.3 per cent in 2020 – according to The Straits Times’ analysis using Department of Statistics data dated June 2024 – marking a demographic shift in a constituency once known for its greying population.

The transformation is largely driven by new Housing Board developments in the Bidadari estate, which has brought in young families.

Owing to the population spike, a portion of Potong Pasir was carved out and absorbed into the new five-member Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC for this election.