WHY THE PAP NEEDS EXTRA CANDIDATES
Political observers noted that it is common for parties to keep potential backup candidates on standby, as changes can still happen in the lead-up to Nomination Day.
Dr Teo Kay Key, a research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies Social Lab, said that as party members, Mr Firdaus and Mr Mustaffa are eligible to contest for the PAP if deployed.
“Given the size of the party, it is not surprising to hear that they have an excess of potential candidates to field for elections. There are a lot of moving parts to consider in confirming the line-ups for 97 parliamentary seats,” said Dr Teo.
Former PAP MP Inderjit Singh said the PAP typically has a number of backup candidates and may reconfigure the teams at the last minute, though he said that it may not be strategic to reveal who the backup candidates are at this stage before Nomination Day.
“You never know what can happen up to Nomination Day, and PAP will want to field 100 per cent of seats, so it is not unusual to have backup candidates,” said Mr Singh.
Mr Singh pointed to the case of former PAP candidate Ivan Lim from the party’s Jurong GRC slate, who withdrew from the 2020 election race days before Nomination Day after his conduct during his time in National Service and other accusations went viral online.
He was replaced at the eleventh hour by Mr Xie Yao Quan, who was eventually elected to represent the Jurong Central division in Jurong GRC.
Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior analyst at business consultancy Solaris Strategies, noted that while Mr Firdaus and Mr Mustaffa can potentially still be fielded, this appears “rather unlikely” as most GRC teams that require a Malay candidate have been “more or less filled up”.
Still, he said it is prudent for the PAP to prepare backup candidates in case there is a need to swap candidates at the last minute. This could be due to ground sentiments towards a particular candidate, or if a candidate changes his mind about standing for the election.
Those seen walking the ground may not be fielded by the party at the polls, Dr Mustafa added. He did not refer to anyone specifically.
On Wednesday, PAP new face Kawal Pal Singh, a lawyer and long-time PAP activist who was seen during a walkabout in Toa Payoh, announced that he would not be contesting in the upcoming elections.
Said the analyst: “(Mr Firdaus and Mr Mustaffa) may have been earmarked, but whether or not they’ll be fielded is a different question. The fact that they are there (in the background) suggests that they may be on the minds of the ruling party to be fielded, whether right now or perhaps as a backup slate.”
