RDU withdraws from opposition coalition

Opposition party Red Dot United (RDU) has said it would withdraw from a coalition of parties formed in 2023, after the National Solidarity Party (NSP), a fellow coalition member, refused to back down from a three-cornered fight in Sembawang GRC.

- Samuel Devaraj

The Coalition is an alliance of opposition parties that also includes the Singapore United Party (SUP) and Singapore People's Party (SPP).

In a Facebook post on April 12, RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon said it cannot support NSP's intention to enter a three-way contest against the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the PAP in Sembawang GRC.

Doing so undermines a core belief of the coalition, which is to always put the interests of voters first, he wrote.

He said: "Our evaluation is that SDP is in a positive position to serve as the people's choice, and should be accorded the benefit of a clean two-way fight against the PAP.

"We are disappointed that NSP has decided to take this route, but remain hopeful that it will return to the original values we have collectively established for The Coalition."

He said the key reason RDU had been part of The Coalition was to avoid multi-cornered fights in constituencies, while allowing the parties to come forward as a strong and united platform, consolidate resources and help one another put their best candidates forward.