SINGAPORE, July 27 — The Opposition began to stake their claims over the weekend on the various constituencies they want to contest, with the Workers’ Party (WP) yesterday declaring their intention to contest 28 seats.

These are in the Marine Parade, East Coast, Jalan Besar and Nee Soon GRCs, and in Fengshan, MacPherson and Sengkang West single-seat wards, in addition to fending off competition as incumbents in Aljunied GRC, Hougang, and Punggol East.

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) meanwhile indicated said it was “returning home” to the newly-carved out single-seat ward of Bukit Batok, and plans for contesting in areas they previously fielded candidates in, including Sembawang GRC and Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Other opposition parties were also out on walkabouts yesterday, with Singaporeans First and the National Solidarity Party (NSP) making the around in Tampines, the latter having fielded a team in the area before.

Speaking to media during a visit to Punggol East, WP chief Low Thia Khiang said: “As a matter of principle, the Workers’ Party will contest where we have contested before. In this case, Joo Chiat is being redrawn into Marine Parade. We don’t want to disappoint voters in Joo Chiat. We want to offer them a choice again in this election.”

WP chairman Sylvia Lim said the party has been regularly visiting areas such as the East Coast and Nee Soon GRCs. The party has also been working consistently in the Moulmein-Kallang area — parts of it will be absorbed into Jalan Besar GRC — over the past few years, she added.

Referring to Joo Chiat, which saw a close fight between WP and the ruling party in 2011, Lim said: “Yee Jenn Jong has (also) been very diligent in that area since he contested it in 2011 and he intended to contest it again. So now that it has been dissolved and as part of Marine Parade, it’s natural for us to look at that GRC because it absorbs Joo Chiat. In that sense, Marine Parade is not an area that is unfamiliar to us,” she said.

SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan, speaking to media during his party’s walkabout in Bukit Batok, said the party has a history in the area, having fielded candidates before.

Geographically it “makes a lot of sense” to contest in the new SMC as they have been active in the region, having contested in nearby Holland-Bukit Timah, Yuhua, Bukit Panjang constituencies in previous elections. Should the party win seats in these areas, it could manage them under one town council, he added.

National Solidarity Party president Sebastian Teo said the party intends to be more focused this coming election. “Last time, our objective was to provide all voters the chance to exercise their right to vote for the MPs they think will serve them well… But this round, since there are so many parties in the political arena, there is no obligation for us to put in more candidates,” he said. In 2011, every constituency, save Tanjong Pagar GRC, saw a contest.

While Teo did not specify which constituencies NSP will be contesting in, he said they will not take on more than four GRCs in the coming election. Apart from Tampines, the party has also been spotted on the ground in Marine Parade GRC.

Singapore Democratic Alliance chairman Desmond Lim today said the party was keen on the six-man Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC for now, a constituency it previously contested in in 2011.

Other parties that have declared their interest in various constituencies include the Democratic Progressive Party, which has said they remain committed to standing in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, as well as in Fengshan. — TODAY