GE2025: New-ish kid on the block Red Dot United fields second-largest opposition slate
It is fielding 15 opposition candidates in this election, second only to the Workers’ Party in number
[SINGAPORE] Though Red Dot United (RDU) is Singapore’s second-youngest political party, it is fielding the second-highest number of opposition candidates in General Election 2025.
RDU has 15 candidates across three Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) – Nee Soon, Holland-Bukit Timah and Jurong East-Bukit Batok – as well as Jurong Central SMC.
All party slates were confirmed on Wednesday (Apr 23) after candidates filed their papers in nomination centres across the island.
The Workers’ Party, which has won the most opposition seats in Parliament, fielded the highest number of opposition candidates at 26.
The People’s Alliance for Reform – which is a coalition of four parties – and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) put up 13 candidates each, followed by the Singapore Democratic Party with 11 candidates.
RDU’s slate for GE2025 is much larger than that for its GE2020 debut, where the party contested just one constituency – Jurong GRC – with five candidates. The team took 25.39 per cent of the vote against a PAP team led by then-senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
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Two of those candidates return in GE2025: secretary-general Ravi Philemon, who is contesting Nee Soon GRC, and Liyana Dhamirah, who is running in the newly formed Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
Philemon and former chairperson Michelle Lee formed RDU in May 2020, after leaving PSP. Lee later left RDU and was replaced as party chair by David Foo, who is also on this year’s Nee Soon GRC slate.
Speaking to reporters after his team’s nomination for Nee Soon GRC was accepted at Chongfu School, Philemon said that the next nine days of campaigning will be tough.
He said: “We’ve got to be hitting the ground in the morning, going back to office to do admin in the afternoon, and in the evening, hitting the ground again in the middle of this... But we are prepared. We put ourselves up for it.
“The reason we put ourselves up for it is that the people matter. Singapore citizens matter, and the country matters.
“And we feel that we need to put ourselves on the line so that Singaporeans can decide for themselves on the direction that they would take for this country.”
92 of 97 seats contested
Out of 97 seats this election, 92 will be contested, after a Workers’ Party no-show resulted in a walkover for five-member Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
The National Solidarity Party and People’s Power Party are each contesting 10 seats.
The Singapore People’s Party is fielding five candidates across Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and Potong Pasir SMC; the Singapore United Party is contesting five-member Ang Mo Kio GRC; and the Singapore Democratic Alliance has a four-member slate for Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
There are also two independent candidates this election. Retiree Jeremy Tan faces a straight fight against PAP newcomer Gho Sze Kee in Mountbatten SMC, while Darryl Lo is part of a three-cornered fight in Radin Mas SMC.
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