2013 Punggol East by-election

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Registered	31,649
Turnout	29,859 (94.34%) 0.94%
First party Second party   Candidate Lee Li Lian Koh Poh Koon Party WP PAP Popular vote 16,045 12,875 Percentage 54.50% 43.73% Swing 13.49% 10.81%   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Kenneth Jeyaretnam Desmond Lim Party RP SDA Popular vote 353 168 Percentage 1.20% 0.57% Swing 1.20% 3.88%
MP before election Michael Palmer PAP Elected MP Lee Li Lian WP

A parliamentaryby-election was held in thePunggol East Single Member Constituency inSingapore on 26 January 2013. It was held to replace the vacant seat after incumbent MP andSpeaker of ParliamentMichael Palmer resigned from thePeople's Action Party (PAP) following revelations of his extramarital affair. This marked the 16th by-election since Singapore's first election in1948 and came just months after the2012 Hougang by-election, occurring under similar circumstances but involving a different MP from theWorkers' Party (WP).^[1]

On polling day,Lee Li Lian from the WP won the Punggol East seat from the PAP, securing 54.50% of the vote in a four-cornered contest. The PAP candidateKoh Poh Koon received 43.73% of the votes. The remaining candidates from theReform Party (RP) and theSingapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) performed poorly, earning only 1.20% and 0.57% respectively, well below the 12.5% threshold and losing their election deposits.^[2]

On 8 December 2012, local tabloidThe New Paper reported receiving a tip-off in the form of screengrabs of phone messages suggesting that Palmer was involved in an affair. The messages indicated a close relationship between Palmer and the other party, with regular meetings on Mondays.^[3] The tabloid also reported that the relationship had lasted for a year. On the same day of theexposé, Palmer metDeputy Prime MinisterTeo Chee Hean to tender his resignation as Speaker and MP. The following day, Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong met Palmer to formally confirm his resignation. Subsequently, the by-election was called by PresidentTony Tan Keng Yam on the advice of the Prime Minister after the Punggol East seat became vacant.

On 12 December 2012, the PAP held a press conference where Palmer announced his resignation, stating he was stepping down to "take full responsibility for a grave mistake" involving an improper relationship with aPeople's Association (PA) staff member, Laura Ong, who worked in thePasir Ris West constituency office. Although Ong did not report directly to Palmer, they collaborated on constituency matters within the Pasir Ris–Punggol division. At the press conference, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced that Teo Ser Luck would serve as interim MP for Punggol East, whileZainal Sapari would take over as chairman of the Pasir Ris–Punggol Town Council. Deputy SpeakerCharles Chong served as Acting Speaker until 14 January 2013, whenHalimah Yacob was appointed as the new Speaker.

On 9 January 2013, President Tan issued a writ of election for the electoral division of Punggol East. The nominations were held on 16 January atNorth Vista Secondary School and voting took place on 26 January.^[4]

Four candidates were successfully nominated for this election:

TheSingapore Democratic Party (SDP) initially expressed interest in contesting the election, with the SDP attempting to broker a deal with WP for a joint alliance,^[10] but later withdrew on 15 January.^[11]There were potential independent candidates who declared their intentions to run. They included formerPeople's Liberal Democratic Party (PLDP) founderOoi Boon Ewe, retiredacupuncturistZeng Guoyuan^[12] and formerSingapore People's Party (SPP) memberBenjamin Pwee.^[13]

Before the results were announced, SDA'sDesmond Limconceded at about 10.42pm (SGT) thanking his supporters and vowed to 'keep SDA's flame alive' in the next election.^[14]

Results were announced at 22:57pm (SGT) when WP's Lee was declared candidate-elect with 54.52% out of 29,415 valid votes, defeating PAP opponent Koh with 43.71% of the vote. Two candidates had forfeited their $14,500election deposit for garnering below the 12.5% threshold, namelyKenneth Jeyaretnam of the RP and Desmond Lim of the SDA with 1.20% and 0.57% of the votes respectively, with the latter becoming the second candidate to have his election deposit forfeited twice since Harbans Singh,^[15] and setting a record-low vote share at the time of the election surpassing Teo Kim Hoe's former record of 196 votes or 0.81% in post-independence Singapore.

Overseas votes were tabulated four days after the by-election, on 30 January, seeing a 0.02% change in the top two parties after Koh and Lee received 19 and 7 votes respectively (there is only one spoilt and 32 abstained votes).^[16] The results are as follows:

By-Election 2013: Punggol East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	WP	Lee Li Lian	16,045	54.50	13.49
	PAP	Koh Poh Koon	12,875	43.73	10.81
	RP	Kenneth Jeyaretnam(Loses deposit)	353	1.20	N/A
	SDA	Desmond Lim Bak Chuan(Loses deposit)	168	0.57	3.88
Rejected ballots			418	1.40	0.3
Margin of victory			3,170	10.77	2.76
Turnout			29,859	94.31	0.99
Registered electors			31,649		4.9%
	WPgain fromPAP		Swing	12.15

The election was seen as another setback for the PAP following the formation of the12th Parliament after the2011 election, when the WP wonAljunied GRC. At the time, it appeared that public support for the PAP was waning. The WP made history withLee Li Lian becoming the first female MP in post-independence Singapore to helm a SMC and the second female opposition MP after WP chairwomanSylvia Lim. It was also only the second instance of the PAP losing a parliamentary seat mid-term to the opposition, the first being in1981 when the WP capturedAnson. Lee was sworn in as MP a week later, on 4 February.^[17]

Prime Minister Lee congratulated the WP on their victory and expressed respect for the voters' decision, noting that by-elections are often about choosing an MP rather than a government, and acknowledging that some voters may use them to support the opposition. He added that the government would focus on pressing national issues in Parliament, including thePopulation White Paper (PWP) and the annual Budget statement. Lee emphasised that the PAP was prepared for the long term, committed to delivering results, improving the lives of Singaporeans and presenting their performance for voters to assess in thenext general election.^[18][19] Similarly, WP chiefLow Thia Khiang told the media that voters should not take the by-election result for granted and emphasised that the WP would continue to hold the government accountable while representing their constituents.^[20]

In the 2015 general election, PAP's Koh was elected as an MP for theYio Chu Kang division underAng Mo Kio GRC, and later representedTampines Central inTampines GRC during the 2020 and 2025 general elections. WP'sLee Li Lian was unable to retain Punggol East in 2015, losing narrowly to the PAP candidateCharles Chong, returning the constituency to PAP control.^[21] Punggol East was later dissolved during the2020 general election and absorbed into the newly formedSengkang GRC.^[22] The WP subsequently won the GRC, effectively returning the area formerly known as Punggol East, nowRivervale, to the party.^[23] As of 2025, the ward remains under WP's control, with Rivervale overseen byLouis Chua.^[24]

The four-cornered contest within a single constituency, last seen in1997 atChua Chu Kang SMC and the2011 presidential election, remained the most recent instance of such a contest until 12 years later in the2025 general election. In Tampines GRC, a four-way race unfolded between the PAP, whose team coincidentally included Koh, the WP led by former Aljunied GRC MPFaisal Manap, theNational Solidarity Party (NSP) and thePeople's Power Party (PPP).^[25] In the ensuing election, the PAP retained Tampines GRC with 52.02% of the vote compared to WP's 47.37%. Meanwhile, both the PPP and NSP performed poorly, receiving only 0.43% and 0.18% of the valid votes respectively, marking the lowest vote shares in post-independence Singapore and causing both parties to forfeit their election deposits.^[26]

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