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[h=2]Tan Jee Say fails to persuade RP and SDA to pull out[/h]
January 20th, 2013 |
Author: Editorial
Tan Jee Say (photo: ST)
Former presidential candidate Mr Tan Jee Say says he tried but failed to persuade the Reform Party (RP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) to withdraw from the race for Punggol East SMC, hoping to prevent a result similar to the 2011 Presidential Election (2011 PE) in which he took part.
At the 2011 PE, Mr Tan was one of the candidates in a four-cornered fight, garnering approximately 25% of the valid votes cast. Two other candidates, namely Mr Tan Cheng Bock and Dr Tony Tan each garnered approximately 35% of the valid votes while Mr Tan Kin Lian managed only 5%.
Some netizens have opined that had Mr Tan Jee Say stayed out of the race, Mr Tan Cheng Bock would most likely have beaten Dr Tony Tan [LINK].
Since Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) chief Desmond Lim and Reform Party (RP) chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam expressed an interest in contesting Punggol East SMC a few weeks ago, Mr Tan said he had been trying to convince both of them to drop out of the race.
His last attempt was on Tuesday night (15 Jan), after the SDP announced that it was withdrawing from the race.
Mr Tan said that he was doing this of his own accord, and was not asked to do so by any political party.
Confirming the same, Mr Jeyaretnam said:
Meanwhile, critics are of the opinion that both RP and SDA are likely to split the opposition votes and hand Punggol East SMC to the People’s Action Party on a silver platter.
Former presidential candidate Mr Tan Jee Say says he tried but failed to persuade the Reform Party (RP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) to withdraw from the race for Punggol East SMC, hoping to prevent a result similar to the 2011 Presidential Election (2011 PE) in which he took part.
At the 2011 PE, Mr Tan was one of the candidates in a four-cornered fight, garnering approximately 25% of the valid votes cast. Two other candidates, namely Mr Tan Cheng Bock and Dr Tony Tan each garnered approximately 35% of the valid votes while Mr Tan Kin Lian managed only 5%.
Some netizens have opined that had Mr Tan Jee Say stayed out of the race, Mr Tan Cheng Bock would most likely have beaten Dr Tony Tan [LINK].
Since Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) chief Desmond Lim and Reform Party (RP) chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam expressed an interest in contesting Punggol East SMC a few weeks ago, Mr Tan said he had been trying to convince both of them to drop out of the race.
His last attempt was on Tuesday night (15 Jan), after the SDP announced that it was withdrawing from the race.
Mr Tan said that he was doing this of his own accord, and was not asked to do so by any political party.
I don’t belong to any party now, so I thought (Mr Lim and Mr Jeyaretnam) would listen to me.
Responding to media queries, Mr Lim confirmed that Mr Tan had contacted him twice but he did not agree because it was the party’s decision.
It was the party’s decision to field me as a candidate, it is not a personal decision.
Mr Lim added that it is the voters’ “democratic right” to vote for the candidate of their choice, even in a multi-cornered fight.
Confirming the same, Mr Jeyaretnam said:
We speak regularly, to (SDP leader) Chee Soon Juan, Tan Jee Say, everybody in opposition.
However, he refused to elaborate further.
Meanwhile, critics are of the opinion that both RP and SDA are likely to split the opposition votes and hand Punggol East SMC to the People’s Action Party on a silver platter.
