The 2013 Punggol East by-election was held on 26 January 2013. This was the 17th by-election since the first election. The nomination day was held on 16 January 2013, with polling day was on 26 January 2013. [1]
The by-election was called by President Tony Tan Keng Yam at the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the seat of Punggol East was left vacant when then the incumbent, then Speaker of ParliamentMichael Palmer, resigned from his seat due to him having an extramarital affair.
A local tabloid, The New Paper, reported that they received a tip-off on 8 December 2012, in the form of screengrabs of phone messages that the Speaker of Parliament, Michael Palmer was having an extramarital affair. The messages suggested that the two had close relationship and met regularly on Mondays.[3] The New Paper also stated that they have been in this relationship for a year. On the same Saturday, Palmer met DPM Teo Chee Hean to tender his resignation as speaker and MP. The next day, PM Lee Hsien Loong met Palmer to confirm his resignation.
On 12 December 2012, the PAP called a press conference where Palmer announced that he resigned to "take full responsibility for a grave mistake" for having an improper relationship with a PA staff working in the Pasir Ris West constituency office, Laura Ong. Although Ong did not work under Palmer, Punggol East belonged to the Pasir Ris-Punggol division and Punggol East still works together on constituencies affairs. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced at the press conference announced that Teo Ser Luck will be the interim MP for Punggol East, while Zainal Sapari would be the new chairman for the Pasir Ris-Punggol town council. Deputy Speaker Charles Chong served as the Acting Speaker until 14 January 2013 where Halimah Yacob became the new speaker.
On 10 January 2013, PAP unveiled their candidate to stand in the by-election, Dr Koh Poh Koon, a 40-year-old colorectal surgeon from Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.[5] Four days later, WP unveiled a previously-contested candidate Lee Li Lian.[6]
In a press statement to the media on 15 January 2013, the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) announced secretary-general Desmond Lim as its candidates.[7] At a news conference outside Rivervale Plaza later on the evening, the Reform Party (RP) announce that chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam will be the fourth candidate.[8]
The Singapore Democratic Party initially expressed interest in contesting the election,[9] even proposing a joint campaign with the WP,[10] but on 15 January, the SDP announced its decision not to contest the by-election and backed WP.[11]
A member of the Worker's Party. She made her debut in the political arena on the 2011 general election where she was fielded as a candidate representing the Punggol East SMC.
Before results were announced, SDA's Desmond Limconceded at about 10.42pm (SGT) thanking his supporters and vowed to 'keep SDA's flame alive' in the next election.[14]
Results were announced on 10.57pm (SGT) where WP's Lee was declared candidate-elect with 54.52% out of 29,415 valid votes, beating PAP opponent Koh with 43.71% of the vote. Two candidates had forfeited their $14,500 election deposit, namely Kenneth Jeyaretnam and Desmond Lim with 1.20% and 0.57% of the votes respectively, with the latter becoming the second candidate to have his election deposit forfeited twice since Harbans Singh,[15] and setting a record-low vote share surpassing Teo Kim Hoe's former record of 196 votes or 0.81%, in post-independence Singapore; Lim's vote count would later be shattered in the 2015 elections by another candidate, Samir Salim Neji, with 150 votes or 0.60%.
Overseas votes were tabulated four days after the by-election, on 30 January, seeing a 0.02% change in the top two parties after Koh and Lee received 19 and 7 votes respectively (there is only one spoilt and 32 abstained votes).[16] The results are as follows:
The election had seen another setback for the PAP since the formation of the 12th Parliament after the 2011 election where WP won Aljunied GRC. WP subsequently made history with Lee becoming the first female MP in post-independence to helm a SMC and the second female opposition MP to do so after WP's chair Sylvia Lim. It was also the second by-election since 1981 in which PAP lost a parliamentary seat of Anson SMC during the term to the opposition. Lee was sworn-in to parliament a week later on 4 February.[17]
Prime Minister Lee congratulated WP for the victory and respected the voter's decision, and further cited that in a by-election, voters were seen choosing for an MP and not government, and encouraged them to vote for the opposition. He then announced that the government will now focus on current national issues in Parliament including the Population White Paper and the annual Budget statement, and mentioned that the PAP are prepared for a long term with time to deliver results, and would continue to work to improve the lives of Singaporeans, and present the report card for voters to judge in the next general election.[18][19][20]
In the 2015 elections, PAP's Koh would be MP-elect for the Yio Chu Kang division under Ang Mo Kio GRC (and later Tampines GRC in 2020), but Lee was unable to retain the seat for a second term and returning Punggol East to the PAP-fold which was won by Joo Chiat SMC candidate Charles Chong in a narrow winning margin.[21] Punggol East SMC would be defunct on a redistricting of boundaries in the 2020 elections under a new constituency of Sengkang GRC;[22] WP would go on to win the GRC, eventually returning Punggol East (now renamed to Rivervale) back to the WP-fold.[23]
References
^. Channel NewsAsia. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
^. Channel NewsAsia. 26 January 2013. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
^. The New Paper. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
^"Punggol East by-election announced, Polling Day is Jan 26". The Straits Times. 9 January 2013.
^"PAP fields Koh Poh Koon as its candidate for by-election". Channel NewsAsia. 10 January 2013.
^"WP fields Lee Li Lian as its candidate for by-election". Channel NewsAsia. 14 January 2013.
^"SDA fields Desmond Lim as its candidate for by-election". Channel NewsAsia. 14 January 2013.
^"RP picks Kenneth Jeyaretnam as candidate for by-election". Channel NewsAsia. 15 January 2013.
^"SDP still keen to contest by-election". Channel NewsAsia. 14 January 2013.
^"SDP proposes joint campaign with WP in Punggol East by-election". Channel NewsAsia. 11 January 2013.
^"SDP not contesting Punggol East by-election". Channel NewsAsia. 15 January 2013.
^"Ooi Boon Ewe, Zeng Guoyuan issued Political Donation Certificates". Channel NewsAsia. 14 January 2013.
^"Benjamin Pwee pulls out". Channel NewsAsia. 15 January 2013.
^"SDA's Lim concedes defeat". Channel NewsAsia. 26 January 2013.
^"Overseas votes for Punggol-East by-election counted". Retrieved 5 September 2020.
^"WP's Lee Li Lian sworn in as MP for Punggol East". Channel NewsAsia. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
^"I respect the choice of Punggol East voters: PM Lee". Retrieved 5 September 2020.
^"Punggol East by-election: Statement of PM Lee Hsien Loong". Retrieved 5 September 2020.
^"Low: Don't take by-election result as sign of future trend". Retrieved 5 September 2020.
^"Parliament: House votes to fill NCMP seat vacated by WP Punggol East candidate Lee Li Lian". 29 January 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^"White Paper on the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, 2020" (PDF). Electoral Boundaries Review Committee. 13 March 2020. (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
^"GE2020 results: WP wins in Sengkang with 52.13% of the votes". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Punggol East by-election, 2013.
August 24, 2023
2013, punggol, east, election, held, january, 2013, this, 17th, election, since, first, election, nomination, held, january, 2013, with, polling, january, 2013, 2012, january, 2013, 2016, registered31, 649turnout29, first, party, second, party, candidate, lian. The 2013 Punggol East by election was held on 26 January 2013 This was the 17th by election since the first election The nomination day was held on 16 January 2013 with polling day was on 26 January 2013 1 2013 Punggol East by election 2012 26 January 2013 2016 Registered31 649Turnout29 859 94 34 0 94 First party Second party Candidate Lee Li Lian Koh Poh KoonParty WP PAPPopular vote 16 045 12 875Percentage 54 50 43 73 Swing 13 49 10 81 Third party Fourth party Candidate Kenneth Jeyaretnam Desmond LimParty RP SDAPopular vote 353 loses deposit 168 loses deposit Percentage 1 20 0 57 Swing 1 20 3 88 MP before electionMichael PalmerPAP Elected MP Lee Li LianWPOn 26 January 2013 Lee Li Lian from the Workers Party was elected as the Member of Parliament for Punggol East SMC winning 54 50 of the vote 2 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Confirmation of by election 2 Candidates 3 Results 4 Aftermath 5 ReferencesBackground EditThe by election was called by President Tony Tan Keng Yam at the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the seat of Punggol East was left vacant when then the incumbent then Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer resigned from his seat due to him having an extramarital affair A local tabloid The New Paper reported that they received a tip off on 8 December 2012 in the form of screengrabs of phone messages that the Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer was having an extramarital affair The messages suggested that the two had close relationship and met regularly on Mondays 3 The New Paper also stated that they have been in this relationship for a year On the same Saturday Palmer met DPM Teo Chee Hean to tender his resignation as speaker and MP The next day PM Lee Hsien Loong met Palmer to confirm his resignation On 12 December 2012 the PAP called a press conference where Palmer announced that he resigned to take full responsibility for a grave mistake for having an improper relationship with a PA staff working in the Pasir Ris West constituency office Laura Ong Although Ong did not work under Palmer Punggol East belonged to the Pasir Ris Punggol division and Punggol East still works together on constituencies affairs Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced at the press conference announced that Teo Ser Luck will be the interim MP for Punggol East while Zainal Sapari would be the new chairman for the Pasir Ris Punggol town council Deputy Speaker Charles Chong served as the Acting Speaker until 14 January 2013 where Halimah Yacob became the new speaker Confirmation of by election Edit On 9 January 2013 President Tony Tan Keng Yam issued a writ of election for the electoral division of Punggol East The nominations was held on 16 January at North Vista Secondary School and voting took place on 26 January 4 Candidates EditOn 10 January 2013 PAP unveiled their candidate to stand in the by election Dr Koh Poh Koon a 40 year old colorectal surgeon from Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre 5 Four days later WP unveiled a previously contested candidate Lee Li Lian 6 In a press statement to the media on 15 January 2013 the Singapore Democratic Alliance SDA announced secretary general Desmond Lim as its candidates 7 At a news conference outside Rivervale Plaza later on the evening the Reform Party RP announce that chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam will be the fourth candidate 8 The Singapore Democratic Party initially expressed interest in contesting the election 9 even proposing a joint campaign with the WP 10 but on 15 January the SDP announced its decision not to contest the by election and backed WP 11 There were potential independent candidates who declared their intentions to run They included former People s Liberal Democratic Party founder Ooi Boon Ewe retired acupuncturist Zeng Guoyuan 12 and former Singapore People s Party member Benjamin Pwee who later pulled out of the race 13 citing the lack of time to run under a party banner as a reason for pulling out Candidates BackgroundLee Li Lian A member of the Worker s Party She made her debut in the political arena on the 2011 general election where she was fielded as a candidate representing the Punggol East SMC Koh Poh Koon A member of the People s Action Party He officially entered Singapore politics in January 2013 this is his first parliamentary election Kenneth Jeyaretnam A member of the Reform Party He has been the 2nd secretary general of the Reform Party Desmond Lim A member and chairman of Singapore Democratic Alliance Results EditBefore results were announced SDA s Desmond Lim conceded at about 10 42pm SGT thanking his supporters and vowed to keep SDA s flame alive in the next election 14 Results were announced on 10 57pm SGT where WP s Lee was declared candidate elect with 54 52 out of 29 415 valid votes beating PAP opponent Koh with 43 71 of the vote Two candidates had forfeited their 14 500 election deposit namely Kenneth Jeyaretnam and Desmond Lim with 1 20 and 0 57 of the votes respectively with the latter becoming the second candidate to have his election deposit forfeited twice since Harbans Singh 15 and setting a record low vote share surpassing Teo Kim Hoe s former record of 196 votes or 0 81 in post independence Singapore Lim s vote count would later be shattered in the 2015 elections by another candidate Samir Salim Neji with 150 votes or 0 60 Overseas votes were tabulated four days after the by election on 30 January seeing a 0 02 change in the top two parties after Koh and Lee received 19 and 7 votes respectively there is only one spoilt and 32 abstained votes 16 The results are as follows By Election 2013 Punggol East Party Candidate Votes WP Lee Li Lian 16 045 54 50 13 49PAP Koh Poh Koon 12 875 43 73 10 81RP Kenneth Jeyaretnam Loses deposit 353 1 20 N ASDA Desmond Lim Bak Chuan Loses deposit 168 0 57 3 88Rejected ballots 418 1 40 0 3Margin of victory 3 170 10 77 2 76Turnout 29 859 94 31 0 99Registered electors 31 649 4 9 WP gain from PAP Swing 12 15Aftermath EditThe election had seen another setback for the PAP since the formation of the 12th Parliament after the 2011 election where WP won Aljunied GRC WP subsequently made history with Lee becoming the first female MP in post independence to helm a SMC and the second female opposition MP to do so after WP s chair Sylvia Lim It was also the second by election since 1981 in which PAP lost a parliamentary seat of Anson SMC during the term to the opposition Lee was sworn in to parliament a week later on 4 February 17 Prime Minister Lee congratulated WP for the victory and respected the voter s decision and further cited that in a by election voters were seen choosing for an MP and not government and encouraged them to vote for the opposition He then announced that the government will now focus on current national issues in Parliament including the Population White Paper and the annual Budget statement and mentioned that the PAP are prepared for a long term with time to deliver results and would continue to work to improve the lives of Singaporeans and present the report card for voters to judge in the next general election 18 19 20 In the 2015 elections PAP s Koh would be MP elect for the Yio Chu Kang division under Ang Mo Kio GRC and later Tampines GRC in 2020 but Lee was unable to retain the seat for a second term and returning Punggol East to the PAP fold which was won by Joo Chiat SMC candidate Charles Chong in a narrow winning margin 21 Punggol East SMC would be defunct on a redistricting of boundaries in the 2020 elections under a new constituency of Sengkang GRC 22 WP would go on to win the GRC eventually returning Punggol East now renamed to Rivervale back to the WP fold 23 References Edit Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer resigns over grave mistake Channel NewsAsia 12 December 2012 Archived from the original on 31 January 2013 Retrieved 15 January 2013 WP s Lee wins Punggol East by election Channel NewsAsia 26 January 2013 Archived from the original on 28 January 2013 Retrieved 26 January 2013 SMSes expose Michael Palmer s affair The New Paper Archived from the original on 13 November 2013 Retrieved 13 November 2013 Punggol East by election announced Polling Day is Jan 26 The Straits Times 9 January 2013 PAP fields Koh Poh Koon as its candidate for by election Channel NewsAsia 10 January 2013 WP fields Lee Li Lian as its candidate for by election Channel NewsAsia 14 January 2013 SDA fields Desmond Lim as its candidate for by election Channel NewsAsia 14 January 2013 RP picks Kenneth Jeyaretnam as candidate for by election Channel NewsAsia 15 January 2013 SDP still keen to contest by election Channel NewsAsia 14 January 2013 SDP proposes joint campaign with WP in Punggol East by election Channel NewsAsia 11 January 2013 SDP not contesting Punggol East by election Channel NewsAsia 15 January 2013 Ooi Boon Ewe Zeng Guoyuan issued Political Donation Certificates Channel NewsAsia 14 January 2013 Benjamin Pwee pulls out Channel NewsAsia 15 January 2013 SDA s Lim concedes defeat Channel NewsAsia 26 January 2013 Candidates name list H I Harbans Singh Overseas votes for Punggol East by election counted Retrieved 5 September 2020 WP s Lee Li Lian sworn in as MP for Punggol East Channel NewsAsia 4 February 2013 Retrieved 6 February 2013 I respect the choice of Punggol East voters PM Lee Retrieved 5 September 2020 Punggol East by election Statement of PM Lee Hsien Loong Retrieved 5 September 2020 Low Don t take by election result as sign of future trend Retrieved 5 September 2020 Parliament House votes to fill NCMP seat vacated by WP Punggol East candidate Lee Li Lian 29 January 2016 Retrieved 18 March 2020 White Paper on the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee 2020 PDF Electoral Boundaries Review Committee 13 March 2020 Archived PDF from the original on 5 July 2020 Retrieved 13 March 2020 GE2020 results WP wins in Sengkang with 52 13 of the votes The Straits Times Singapore Press Holdings 11 July 2020 Retrieved 11 July 2020 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Punggol East by election 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2013 Punggol East by election amp oldid 1171937899, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
