SINGAPORE: A total of 35 candidates who contested the General Election on 3 May have declared their election expenses, with combined spending reaching S$884,978.
These figures were made publicly available on the Elections Department’s (ELD) website on 28 May.
Under Singapore’s election laws, candidates must declare their expenses and the nature of spending. This process aims to ensure transparency and accountability in campaign financing.
Candidates have until 16 June to file their election returns.
PAP’s Marine Parade–Braddell Heights team spent S$388,756 in sole walkover victory
Among those who have submitted so far, People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate Goh Pei Ming topped the list with S$104,085 in declared spending.
More than half of his expenditure went towards non-online election advertising, including printed materials and physical displays.
Goh, a former chief of staff in the Singapore Armed Forces, was part of the PAP team in Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC. His team was the only one to win in a walkover on Nomination Day.
Their collective campaign expenditure stood at S$388,756 — the highest recorded among the teams that have declared their finances so far.
In total, the 35 candidates represented a range of parties, including the PAP, Progress Singapore Party (PSP), National Solidarity Party (NSP), People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR), Red Dot United (RDU), and Singapore People’s Party (SPP).
One candidate each from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), People’s Power Party (PPP), and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) also submitted their expenses.
Additionally, independent candidates Darryl Lo and Jeremy Tan have declared their financial statements.
No candidates from the Workers’ Party (WP) have submitted returns to date.
This leaves 176 candidates either yet to file or whose submissions are pending announcement in the Government Gazette.
According to the data released, the average expenditure per candidate came to S$25,285.
However, spending varied significantly. While some candidates incurred no expenses, others spent over S$100,000.
The PAP led the average spending per candidate at S$77,751.
This was followed by the PSP with an average of S$32,303 and the NSP at S$24,378.
At the lower end, RDU averaged S$1,297 per candidate, while PAR had the lowest average at S$898.
Seven candidates report zero spending
Seven candidates declared zero expenditure.
These included Sharad Kumar, David Foo and Pang Heng Chuan from RDU; Alec Tok from SDP; Harminder Pal Singh from SDA; and Lim Rui Xian and Muhammad Norhakim from SPP.
PPP’s Samuel Lee reported S$100 in “other expenses”. He announced via TikTok on 27 May that he had resigned from the party, effective 23 May, to pursue other opportunities.
Among independent candidates, Jeremy Tan, who contested Mountbatten, spent S$16,075.
His largest cost was for his solo rally at the Home of Athletics on 1 May.
Darryl Lo, contesting Radin Mas, spent S$12,213, with most of it going towards printed materials and other non-digital promotional tools.
The only other full team to have submitted expenses was NSP’s Sembawang GRC team, which reported a total of S$121,888 in spending.
In addition to spending, candidates are required to declare any donations received.
Among the 35, only RDU’s Ben Puah, who contested Jurong East–Bukit Batok GRC, declared donations.
He received S$280 from anonymous donors, via six PayNow transactions ranging from S$10 to S$100.
Puah spent S$109 in total on his campaign.
RDU’s Kala Manickam submitted disputed claims
Another RDU candidate, Kala Manickam, submitted disputed claims amounting to S$1,365.
These included S$404 in food expenses for campaigners, S$66 for transport, and S$895 for printing extra campaign fliers.
According to the ELD, such claims are filed when election agents dispute or fail to settle expense claims within the 28-day window.
Kala, who contested in Jurong Central SMC during 3 May poll, told The Straits Times that her claims were not reimbursed by the party. She explained that she was advised to submit them as disputed.
“The party told me to raise petty cash to claim back my money, but when I submitted it after the election, they said the spending was not endorsed by the party,” she said.
She added that the party also cited her lack of fundraising as a reason for the rejection of her reimbursement request.
Kala said she would personally absorb the cost, stating her campaign was driven by a desire to serve Singapore.
The ELD allows members of the public to view candidates’ declared expenses by logging into its digital service with their Singpass credentials.
Further updates are expected as the 16 June deadline approaches.
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