Lawrence Wong is the 2025 election’s fresh face. Can the opposition upstage him with someone?

Five years ago, the Singapore General Election of 2020 was looking to be rather dull, right until Associate Professor Jamus Lim, a relatively unknown Workers’ Party (WP) candidate, took the stage in a TV debate just nine days before the vote.

Facing off against Francis Yuen (PSP), Chee Soon Juan (SDP), and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Lim’s performance immediately captured attention.

When the results came in on July 10, not only did the WP outperform its previous election results, but it also flipped a new Group Representation Constituency (GRC)—Sengkang—where Jamus Lim was a key team member. This achievement was undeniably his own.

It was a major and unexpected win for the opposition, especially considering Singapore’s successful pandemic response in 2020, which the People’s Action Party (PAP) had hoped would translate into strong voter support.

In the typically slow-paced world of local politics, where established names dominate, the appearance of an articulate and fresh candidate injected excitement into the election, with many voters willing to give promising newcomers a chance.

This year, the new face bringing fresh energy to the race is none other than Lawrence Wong.

Though not exactly “new”—having served as an MP for 13 years and sworn in as Prime Minister nearly a year ago—this will be Lawrence Wong’s first electoral contest as the PAP leader, following Lee Hsien Loong’s departure from the role.

Post-Lee Singapore

While Singapore experienced a 14-year period under Goh Chok Tong’s premiership, between Lee Kuan Yew’s and his son’s terms, it was still during the lifetime of the nation’s founding father. His active presence provided a sense of continuity and stability until his passing in 2015.

Now, even with his son serving as one of the country’s Senior Ministers, after 60 years, the end of the “Lee era” is in sight, with Lawrence Wong leading Singapore into a new political reality.

This marks a significant shift, and the PAP has done well in choosing a new leader who, so far, has faced little criticism.

Singapore’s Prime Minister starts with a clean slate, and it seems he might be the one to break the “curse of first premiership,” which saw both Goh Chok Tong and Lee Hsien Loong start their first term with a lower election result than their predecessors.

On the other hand, the opposition still lacks a comparable sense of fresh appeal.

SDP’s Chee Soon Juan will be attempting to win a seat for the seventh time. PSP will see the return of 84-year-old Tan Cheng Bock, aiming to attract votes in the West. Meanwhile, the Workers’ Party is introducing new faces, not just out of choice, but necessity, following the expulsions of Raeesah Khan, Nicole Seah, and Leon Perera in the past four years.

Still, it remains PAP’s most formidable competitor.

Jamus Lim’s success has likely shown Pritam Singh that shaking things up is key to winning over the middle-ground voters. The party just needs to find the right people—articulate and presentable —to lead the constituency teams.

The Straits Times has already spotlighted some of these new faces for the WP, and it seems the party has brought on a promising contender: Harpreet Singh.

Looking for another Jamus

While the qualities of a strong candidate are clear, finding one is far from simple. Personality combined with some level of charisma isn’t something that can be taught—it’s intrinsic.

The Workers’ Party (WP) has plenty of members, but it has struggled to find individuals who can compete head-to-head with the PAP’s longstanding leaders.

All is not lost this year, however, as it has secured a notable addition to its ranks: a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

Harpreet Singh is no ordinary lawyer, and he brings a new level of promise to the party. He could be the Jamus Lim of this election cycle—attracting attention to the WP through media appearances while also leading a team to contest a constituency successfully.

He has already made waves by criticising the Keppel Brazil bribery case and casting doubts on the conflict of interest surrounding ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan renting bungalows on Ridout Road. He has also been an advocate for the repeal of the controversial Section 377A.

Whether you agree with his views or not is less important in politics; what matters is that he can speak authoritatively on key issues of the day, which enhances the WP’s image and potential.

Given the locations of his walkabouts, he will likely be deployed somewhere in the east, either in Marine Parade (where PAP has to fill the hole after Tan Chuan-Jin) or further out in East Coast, where WP scored a very respectable 46.6% in 2020, against former PM-in-waiting, Heng Swee Keat’s team.

Bigger than one constituency

While the PAP has faced its own significant challenges since 2020—including the departure of Tan Chuan-Jin due to an extramarital affair and the conviction of Minister S Iswaran—the WP has also dealt with similar crises, one of which remains unresolved: the conviction of its leader Pritam Singh, who is currently appealing the decision.

The WP also lost two high-caliber members, Leon Perera and Nicole Seah, both due to romantic scandals, in addition to the infamous Raeesah Khan incident.

To recover from this low and effectively challenge the ruling party in new areas, the WP needs a candidate who can rise above these issues—someone with the ability to draw national attention and shift focus away from Pritam’s ongoing legal troubles.

Whether Harpreet Singh could be that candidate remains to be seen. Much depends on the timing of the General Election and the outcome of Pritam’s appeal.

As a respected lawyer, it could be difficult for Harpreet to align with a leader—also a lawyer—convicted of lying under oath by the High Court.

As long as Pritam’s appeal is pending, campaigning can proceed. However, once the final verdict is delivered, especially if the conviction is upheld, it could disrupt the WP’s political strategy, erode support, and place pressure on Pritam to resign, creating a whole new set of problems and reshuffling between constituencies.

Down to the wire

This may be the most unpredictable General Election yet, even though previous elections have also had their surprises.

While Lee Hsien Loong is undoubtedly a giant in Singapore’s history, his 20 years in leadership have been marked by controversies that opponents have often used against him. In contrast, Lawrence Wong presents a fresh opportunity for the PAP, with few vulnerabilities for critics to exploit.

He is competent, well-presented, globally respected, and well-liked, and he even plays the guitar.

Even though he’s been around for a while, people are only really discovering the person he is.

His main opponent, Pritam Singh, has been in the public eye longer and has faced numerous challenges over the past 15 years. Despite being younger, he remains tied to the Lee Hsien Loong era, and his recent legal troubles haven’t helped change that perception.

Unless the opposition can uncover a new star in 2025, like they did in 2020, it will be hard to outshine Singapore’s new Prime Minister.

However, with so many moving parts and outcomes still uncertain, it will be challenging to predict how the General Election will unfold right up to the end.

Featured Image Credit: Singapore Conference on AI, edited by Vulcan Post