PAP's slate of new faces shapes up with 30 likely names; more women in the mix

The PAP's latest crop of candidates could be its youngest since the 2011 election, with more women in the mix.

- Ng Wei Kai and Goh Yan Han

In all, The Straits Times has identified around 30 new faces who could stand in the upcoming election. Among them are senior civil servants, C-suite executives and long-serving grassroots volunteers.

This is in line with the party's practice of refreshing between a quarter and a third of its slate each term. As Singapore's next Parliament will have 97 elected members, it is likely to field between 24 and 32 new faces.

The new slate is also likely to reflect the priorities of its secretary-general, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. In November 2024, PM Wong emphasised leadership renewal as a priority in his first speech as party leader.

He has also said he plans to field more women in the upcoming general election.

ST's analysis of the potential candidates showed several trends.

First, the party could field more women than in previous years, in keeping with a steadily rising trend.

Second, the split between the number of potential candidates from the private sector and the public sector has remained roughly consistent since 2006.

Third, the potential slate for 2025 is slightly younger than those in previous years - with an average age of about 40.

WOMEN IN PAP POLITICS

About 40 per cent of the potential candidates are female, which means 12 new women candidates could be fielded in 2025.

This is up from 37 per cent in GE2020 and under a quarter in 2015.

PM Wong had identified this as a priority in August 2024, saying he hoped to increase female representation in Parliament. "To me, having that diversity in the team is very useful," he said.

Fresh faces seen on the ground with PAP MPs include Madam Hazlina Abdul Halim, the former chief executive of Make-A-Wish Singapore, lawyer Gho Sze Kee and business development director Diana Pang.