Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan was not about to let the 2025 General Election losses get him down. In his first public appearance since the defeat, he reiterated his call for electoral reforms on Sunday, May 18. Chee told reporters before an appreciation dinner for SDP members that they were not retreating but rather embarking on a renew, rebuild, reignite campaign.
Losses were felt as the opposition party was defeated in all four constituencies contested during the election. Chee himself narrowly missed out on a seat as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament after securing 46.82 per cent of the vote in Sembawang West SMC. The battle between Chee and People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate Poh Li San was one of the closest contests of the election. Despite the setbacks, Chee outlined three major initiatives the party would focus on moving forward.
The first initiative involved launching an online petition calling for urgent and meaningful changes to Singapore’s political system. The petition aimed to ensure transparency, accountability, and democratic integrity in the electoral process. Key points included removing the Elections Department from the Prime Minister’s Office, ending gerrymandering, and abolishing the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system. Additionally, the petition called for a minimum three-week campaign period, a six-month gap between the announcement of new electoral boundaries and parliament dissolution, and a review of the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act to promote free and independent media.
