Singapore PM congratulates Punggol East winner

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has congratulated Lee Li Lian and the Workers’ Party for winning the Punggol East by-election.

In a statement in response to the result of the by-election, Lee said:"I called a by-election in Punggol East to fill the vacancy created when Mr Michael Palmer resigned as MP.

"I respect the choice of Punggol East voters. I congratulate Ms Lee Li Lian and the Workers’ Party for winning this by-election," he said.

He said the PAP fielded a good candidate, namely Dr Koh Poh Koon.

"He showed character and courage in contesting this election, and did the PAP proud. Clearly, many voters were impressed by Dr Koh’s sincerity and commitment," he said, adding that unfortunately these were not enough for him to win.

"I wish to thank all those who voted for Dr Koh and the PAP, and especially all our activists and volunteers who fought so hard in this campaign," Lee added.

Lee, who garnered 16,038 votes (53.76 per cent of the total votes cast), defeated three other candidates, namely Dr Koh Poh Koon from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), Kenneth Jeyaretnam of the Reform Party (RP) and Desmond Lim Bak Chuan of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA). Koh obtained 12,856 votes (43.09 per cent), Jeyaretnam 353 votes while Lim 168 votes.