East Coast Group Representation Constituency

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, Simei, Siglap, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Chai Chee, Changi Airport and the offshore islands of Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Pedra Branca.[1] The GRC also covers a large portion of Singapore's eastern territorial waters and ITE College East. The five divisions are Bedok, Siglap, Fengshan, Changi-Simei and Kampong Chai Chee.

Group Representation Constituency
for the Parliament of Singapore
RegionEast and North-East Regions, Singapore
Electorate121,772
Current constituency
Created1997 (1997)
Seats5
Party People's Action Party
Member(s)Heng Swee Keat
Maliki Osman
Tan Kiat How
Cheryl Chan Wei Ling
Jessica Tan Soon Neo
Town CouncilEast Coast–Fengshan
Created from

East Coast GRC is led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. He co-leads with Maliki Osman, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Second Minister of Education.

History

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.

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. It was downsized from six members to five members following the redrawing of divisions into the Marine Parade GRC in 2006. 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 PAP received numerous close fights with the WP and won both times, though the results allowed WP candidates to enter parliament as Non-Constituency MPs both times.

In October 2015, Kampong Chai Chee MP, Lee Yi Shyan stepped down from his ministerial post after suffering from a mini stroke in May 2015. Prior to the 2020 general election, Lee Yi Shyan and Lim Swee Say retired and were succeeded by Tan Kiat How and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, the latter who was transferred from Tampines GRC. The resulting election saw the PAP retaining East Coast GRC, albeit with the second closest marginal result after West Coast GRC; WP candidates did not enter parliament as NCMPs this time as the offer was made to the Progress Singapore Party in West Coast as the best performing losers.

East Coast GRC is the only GRC that is managing it's town council with no other constituencies and named as East Coast Town Council.

Members of Parliament

Election Division IncumbentParty
1991 PAP
Formation
1997
  • Bedok
  • Fengshan
  • Joo Chiat
  • Kaki Bukit
  • Kampong Chai Chee
  • Siglap
PAP
2001
  • Bedok
  • Changi-Simei
  • Fengshan
  • Kaki Bukit
  • Kampong Chai Chee
  • Siglap
PAP
2006
  • Bedok
  • Changi-Simei
  • Fengshan
  • Kampong Chai Chee
  • Siglap
PAP
2011 PAP
2015
  • Bedok
  • Changi-Simei
  • Kampong Chai Chee
  • Siglap
PAP
2020
  • Bedok
  • Changi-Simei
  • Fengshan
  • Kampong Chai Chee
  • Siglap
PAP

Candidates and results

Elections in 2020s

General Election 2020: East Coast GRC
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP Heng Swee Keat
Maliki Osman
Tan Kiat How
Cheryl Chan Wei Ling
Jessica Tan Soon Neo
61,144 53.39 6.72
WP Nicole Seah Xue Ling
Kenneth Foo Seck Guan
Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim
Terence Tan Li-Chern
Dylan Ng Foo Eng
53,375 46.61 6.72
Majority 7,769 6.78
Rejected ballots 1,393 1.20
Turnout 114,519 94.96 2.61
Registered electors 121,772
PAP hold Swing 6.72

As Fengshan merged with East Coast GRC, the notional result in 2015 with the two constituencies' 2015 votes combined is PAP 60.11%, WP 39.89%. Therefore, there was a swing of 6.72% to WP from the 2015 election.

Elections in 2010s

General Election 2015: East Coast GRC
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP Lim Swee Say
Lee Yi Shyan
Maliki Osman
Jessica Tan
54,981 60.73 5.9
WP Leon Perera
Daniel Goh Pei Siong
Gerald Giam
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
General Election 2011: East Coast GRC
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP Lim Swee Say
Raymond Lim
Maliki Osman
Lee Yi Shyan
Jessica Tan
59,992 54.8 9.1
WP Gerald Giam
Png Eng Huat
Mohd Fazli Talip
Eric Tan Heng Chong
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

Elections in 2000s

General Election 2006: East Coast GRC
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP S Jayakumar
Raymond Lim
Abdullah Tarmugi
Lee Yi Shyan
Jessica Tan
66,931 63.9
WP Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman
Brandon Siow Wei-Min
Chia Ti Lik
Eric Tan Heng Chong
Perry Tong Tzee Kwang
37,873 36.1
Turnout 107,028 91.7
PAP hold Swing N/A
General Election 2001: East Coast GRC
Party Candidate Votes %
PAP S Jayakumar
Raymond Lim
Lee Yock Suan
Abdullah Tarmugi
Tan Soo Khoon
Chew Heng Ching
Walkover
Turnout 144,012 N/A
PAP hold

Elections in 1990s

General Election 1997: East Coast GRC
Party Candidate Votes %
PAP S Jayakumar
Ch'ng Hee Kok
Tan Soo Khoon
Abdullah Tarmugi
Chew Heng Ching
Chan Soo Sen
Walkover
Turnout 142,201 N/A
PAP win (new seat)

References

  1. 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.

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