SINGAPORE: The People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) will field 14 candidates in seven constituencies in the upcoming General Election, secretary-general Lim Tean said on Friday (Apr 18).

These are Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs), and Mountbatten, Potong Pasir, Queenstown, Radin Mas and Yio Chu Kang Single Member Constituencies (SMCs).

The PAR will not run in Marymount, Jalan Kayu and Kebun Baru SMCs, Mr Lim said. This was "after careful deliberation and also taking into account the interest of the other parties and their movements". Red Dot United (RDU) has announced plans to contest Jalan Kayu, while the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has said that it will contest Kebun Baru and Marymount.

Mr Lim also introduced the PAR's potential candidate for Queenstown SMC, and another prospective candidate in its slate of 14.

MAHABOOB BAATSHA

Mr Mahaboob Baatsha, 57, will make his electoral debut by running in Queenstown SMC. He is the treasurer of the Reform Party (RP), one of the three constituent parties in the PAR. The other two are Peoples Voice (PV) and the Democratic Progressive Party. 

Mr Baatsha is a director in an oil and gas firm who has lived in Queenstown for more than 30 years.

He spoke about the rental flats in the neighbourhood, saying that "a lot of people can't move to the next stage from the rental blocks" and that he hoped to help them find jobs if elected.

Another of the PAR's prospective candidates, early childhood educator Vigneswari V Ramachandran, 43, was also introduced on Friday.

If nominated, this will be Ms Vigneswari's third election.

She was fielded with an RP team in Ang Mo Kio GRC in GE2011, losing with 30.67 per cent of the vote against the People's Action Party (PAP).

She ran again in GE2020 as part of PV's team in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, losing with 12.17 per cent of the vote in a three-way contest with the PAP and the Singapore Democratic Alliance.

Ms Vigneswari said that in 2020, she also walked the ground in Jalan Besar GRC and used to live in the constituency.

"I hope she will have the chance to run in Jalan Besar," said Mr Lim.

Mr Lim was speaking before a walkabout at Pek Kio Market, which he described as being at the "confluence" of Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar GRCs.

The PAR was formed in 2023. Mr Lim, who is also the founder of PV, previously confirmed on Apr 13 that the PAR would run in Tanjong Pagar GRC and Jalan Besar GRC.

Both may see three-cornered fights. RDU has announced plans to run in Tanjong Pagar GRC, while the National Solidarity Party has indicated it would run in Jalan Besar GRC.

At GE2020, Tanjong Pagar GRC saw a straight fight between the People's Action Party and the Progress Singapore Party, which lost with 36.9 per cent of the vote.

Tanjong Pagar GRC, which has five seats, will have 139,688 voters in GE2025. Its boundaries have changed after absorbing areas in Dover and Telok Blangah from what was West Coast GRC, and carving out the new Queenstown SMC.

At GE2020, Jalan Besar GRC was contested by a PV team led by Mr Lim, which lost to the PAP after garnering 34.64 per cent of the vote.

Jalan Besar GRC has four seats and 106,102 voters in this year's election. Its electoral boundaries remain unchanged from 2020.

PAR member Dr Michael Fang announced last week that he would run in Yio Chu Kang SMC.

PAR has called for free education, school meals and healthcare for every Singaporean child and said it would pursue these policies if elected, but has not stated how these measures would be funded.

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