East Coast Group Representation Constituency
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
| East Coast | |
|---|---|
| Group Representation constituency for the Parliament of Singapore | |
 | |
| Region | East and North-East Regions, Singapore |
| Electorate | 151,073 |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1997 |
| Seats | 5 |
| Party | People's Action Party |
| Member(s) | Dinesh Vasu Dash Hazlina Abdul Halim Tan Kiat How Jessica Tan Edwin Tong |
| Town Council | East Coast |
| Created from | |
The East Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency in the eastern area of Singapore. The areas of the Group Representation Constituency consists of locations such as East Coast Park, Bedok, Changi (only Changi South, Singapore Expo and Changi Business Park), Simei, Siglap, Joo Chiat and Chai Chee.[1] The GRC also covers a large portion of Singapore's eastern territorial waters. The five divisions: Bedok, Changi-Simei, Fengshan-Siglap, Kampong Chai Chee & Joo Chiat managed by East Coast Town Council. The current MPs are from the People's Action Party (PAP) Dinesh Vasu Dash, Jessica Tan, Hazlina Abdul Halim, Tan Kiat How and Edwin Tong.
History
[edit]East Coast GRC was formed in 1997 as a six-member Group Representation Constituency. East Coast GRC was formed with a merger of Bedok Group Representation Constituency and Eunos Group Representation Constituency. It was downsized from six members to five members following the redrawing of divisions into the Marine Parade GRC in 2006.
Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency was formerly part of the GRC until 2001, and subsumed into Marine Parade GRC as of the 2015 elections. A large portion of the Kaki Bukit division and 60% of Kampong Chai Chee was transferred from East Coast GRC to Marine Parade GRC and saw the removal of Chew Heng Ching, Tan Soo Khoon and Lee Yock Suan due to the advanced age in 2006, followed by S Jayakumar and Abdullah Tarmugi in 2011.
The offshore island of Coney Island was transferred to Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC in 2015, while Fengshan SMC was carved out and East Coast GRC was left with four members. East Coast GRC was increased in size to five after Fengshan SMC has been absorbed back into East Coast GRC for the 2020 general election.
The People's Action Party (PAP) won in a walkover in the 1997 and 2001 general elections. It saw its first contest in the 2006 general election from the Workers' Party. This GRC is a perennial battleground between the two parties. In 2011 and 2015, the People's Action Party received numerous close fights with the Workers' Party and won both times, though the results allowed Workers' Party candidates to enter parliament as Non-Constituency MPs both times.
In October 2015, Lee Yi Shyan stepped down from his ministerial post after suffering from a stroke in May 2015.
Prior to the 2020 general election, incumbent MP Lim Swee Say retired from politics.[2] During Nomination Day on 30 June 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat was nominated for East Coast GRC instead of Tampines GRC, which he had been representing for two terms since 2011.[3] The move surprised political observers but was explained as Heng filling a succession gap for Lim.[3] When campaigning, Heng gave what The Economist described as a "disastrous speech" to unveil the PAP's manifesto for East Coast GRC residents called "Together We Care @East Coast", during which "he fumbled his lines so badly that it inspired widespread public ridicule and a bounty of internet memes".[4] The plan became popularly known as the "East Coast Plan" among Singaporeans and on social media.[5]
On 10 July 2020, the five-member PAP team led by Heng won 53.41% of the vote against the Workers' Party.[6] It was the second closest marginal result after West Coast GRC.
In 2025, the Loyang, Flora, Changi Village, Changi Airfreight Centre and Changi Airport of Siglap ward were moved to the newly created Pasir Ris-Changi GRC. Changi South and Changi Business Park were merged into Changi-Simei ward as a result from Siglap. The GRC also absorbed Joo Chiat ward of the defunct Marine Parade GRC. Fengshan ward was merged with Siglap ward (the remainder) to form Fengshan-Siglap.[7][8]
Ahead of the 2025 general election, incumbent MP Cheryl Chan announced her retirement from politics on 21 April 2025, citing wanting to spend more time with family.[9] On 23 April 2025, the Nomination Day for the 2025 general election, Heng appeared at the nomination center but was not listed in the nomination papers for East Coast GRC nor other constituencies. Heng subsequently confirmed that he is not contesting the election in a Facebook post.[10] The PAP team contesting the GRC consisted of incumbent MPs, Tan Kiat How and Jessica Tan, with two newcomers, Dinesh Vasu Dash and Hazlina Abdul Halim, and led by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.[11] WP fielded a team, consisting of former Non-constituency Member of Parliament Yee Jenn Jong, Nathaniel Koh Paris V. Parameswari, Sufyan Mikhail Putra and Jasper Kuan, to contest the GRC.[12][13] The PAP team won the contest with almost 59 percent of the votes, an increase of around 5.5 percent.[14]
Members of Parliament
[edit]| Year | Division | Members of Parliament | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formation | ||||
| 1997 |
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PAP | ||
| 2001 |
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| 2006 |
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| 2011 | ||||
| 2015 |
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| 2020 |
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| 2025 |
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Electoral results
[edit]Note : Elections Department Singapore do not include rejected votes for calculation of candidate's vote share. Hence, the total of all candidates' vote share will be 100%.
Elections in 1990s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | S Jayakumar Chng Hee Kok Chan Soo Sen Chew Heng Ching Tan Soo Khoon Abdullah Tarmugi |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 142,201 | ||||
| PAP win (new seat) | |||||
Elections in 2000s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | S Jayakumar Lee Yock Suan Raymond Lim Chew Heng Ching Tan Soo Khoon Abdullah Tarmugi |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 144,012 | ||||
| PAP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | S Jayakumar Jessica Tan Raymond Lim Lee Yi Shyan Abdullah Tarmugi |
66,931 | 63.9 | N/A | |
| WP | Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman Brandon Siow Chia Ti Lik Eric Tan Perry Tong |
37,873 | 36.1 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 107,028 | 91.7 | N/A | ||
| PAP hold | |||||
Elections in 2010s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lim Swee Say Jessica Tan Raymond Lim Lee Yi Shyan Maliki Osman |
59,992 | 54.8 |  9.1
| |
| WP | Png Eng Huat Gerald Giam Mohd Fazli Talip Eric Tan Glenda Han |
49,429 | 45.2 |  9.1
| |
| Majority | 10,563 | 9.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 111,269 | 92.5 | N/A | ||
| PAP hold | Swing | 9.1
|
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lim Swee Say Jessica Tan Lee Yi Shyan Maliki Osman |
54,981 | 60.73 | 5.9
| |
| WP | Daniel Goh Gerald Giam Leon Perera Mohamed Fairoz Bin Shariff |
35,547 | 39.27 | 5.9
| |
| Majority | 19,434 | 21.4 | 11.8
| ||
| Rejected ballots | 1,008 | 1.02 | |||
| Turnout | 99,118 | − | |||
| PAP hold | Swing | 5.9
|
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Elections in 2020s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Heng Swee Keat Jessica Tan Cheryl Chan Tan Kiat How Maliki Osman |
61,144 | 53.39 | 7.34
| |
| WP | Nicole Seah Kenneth Foo Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim Terence Tan Dylan Ng |
53,375 | 46.61 | 7.34
| |
| Majority | 7,769 | 6.78 | 14.62
| ||
| Total valid votes | 114,519 | 98.80 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 1,393 | 1.20 | |||
| Turnout | 115,912 | 95.29 | |||
| Registered electors | 121,644 | ||||
| PAP hold | Swing | 7.34
|
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Edwin Tong Jessica Tan Tan Kiat How Dinesh Vasu Dash Hazlina Abdul Halim |
80,105 | 58.73 | 5.34
| |
| WP | Yee Jenn Jong Nathaniel Koh Paris V. Parameswari Sufyan Mikhail Putra Jasper Kuan |
56,288 | 41.27 | 5.34
| |
| Majority | 23,817 | 17.46 | 10.68
| ||
| Total valid votes | 136,393 | 98.86 | 0.06
| ||
| Rejected ballots | 1,570 | 1.14 | 0.06
| ||
| Turnout | 137,963 | 91.32 | 3.64
| ||
| Registered electors | 151,073 | 24.19
| |||
| PAP hold | Swing | 5.34
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References
[edit]- ^ Lai, Linette (1 February 2019). "Registers of electors to be updated, Pedra Branca included under East Coast electoral division". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ hermesauto (30 June 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Heng Swee Keat to helm East Coast GRC in election". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ a b Lai, Linette (30 June 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Heng Swee Keat decided to move to East Coast GRC as it cannot afford a 'succession gap'". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Singapore's prime-minister-in-waiting gives up the job". The Economist.
- ^ "This is the real 'Together We Care @ East Coast' plan". mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ "Singapore ruling party, stung by poll setback, faces succession questions". Reuters. 11 July 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Ang, Hwee Min (11 March 2025). "GE2025: Major boundary changes to West Coast, East Coast and Marine Parade GRCs". CNA. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ^ Koh, Fabian (11 March 2025). "GE2025: Extensive changes to electoral boundaries due to population shifts; only 5 GRCs, 4 SMCs left intact". CNA. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
- ^ Goh, Yan Han (21 April 2025). "East Coast GRC MP Cheryl Chan retires from politics, will not contest GE2025". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "GE2025: Surprise moves as prospective candidates file papers at nomination centres". CNA. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ Loi, Esther; Lim, Joyce; Stanley, Sarah (4 May 2025). "GE2025: PAP wins 58.76% of votes against WP in East Coast, takes Mountbatten with 63.84%". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ Goh, Yan Han (23 April 2025). "GE2025: Edwin Tong leads PAP's East Coast team against WP veteran Yee Jenn Jong's slate". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ "'I have never left': Yee Jenn Jong on his 'one last' return as WP's East Coast candidate in GE2025". The Straits Times. 1 May 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ Oh, Tessa (3 May 2025). "Singapore election 2025: PAP secures East Coast GRC with 58.76% of the votes against WP". The Business Times. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Statement of Poll for the Electoral Division of East Coast" (PDF). 16 May 2025.
- 2020 General Election's result
- 2015 General Election's result
- 2011 General Election's result
- 2006 General Election's result
- 2001 General Election's result
- 1997 General Election's result
- 1991 General Election's result
- 1988 General Election's result
