Some residents are disappointed they will not get to vote

Ms Grysell, 23, would have been a first-time voter in the May 3 general election, but she will not get to cast her vote due to a walkover in her constituency.

- Shermaine Ang and Syarafana Shafeeq

A five-member PAP team in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, which the WP was expected to contest, was elected unopposed when nomination proceedings ended at noon on April 23.

"I was looking forward to voting for the first time. I don't really follow Singapore politics, but because I am a first-time voter, I started tuning in to the news to see what was happening," said the online shop owner, who has lived in Geylang for 11 years. She declined to give her full name.

"So, of course I am quite bummed I won't vote after all. I didn't expect that possibility at all."

This is the first walkover at a general election since 2011, when a PAP team for Tanjong Pagar GRC stood uncontested. The WP had contested Marine Parade GRC in 2020 and 2015. In 2020, it garnered 42.26 per cent of the vote, losing to PAP's 57.74 per cent.

Under the latest electoral boundary changes, the constituency absorbed MacPherson SMC and parts of Mountbatten SMC. It was renamed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.

On April 24, The Straits Times spoke to Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC residents at Geylang East Market & Food Centre and Promenade Market @ 84 in Marine Parade Central, as well as nearby void decks and a park. Many residents declined to give their full names.