2013 Punggol East by-election

2013 Punggol East by-election

26 January 2013
Registered31,649
Turnout29,859 (94.34%) 0.94%
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Lee Li Lian Koh Poh Koon
Party WP PAP
Popular vote 16,045 12,875
Percentage 54.50% 43.73%
Swing 13.49% 10.81%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Candidate Kenneth Jeyaretnam Desmond Lim
Party RP SDA
Popular vote 353 168
Percentage 1.20% 0.57%
Swing 1.20% 3.88%

MP before election

Michael Palmer
PAP

Elected MP

Lee Li Lian
WP

A parliamentary by-election was held in the Punggol East Single Member Constituency in Singapore on 26 January 2013. It was held to replace the vacant seat after incumbent MP and Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer resigned from the People's Action Party (PAP) following revelations of his extramarital affair. This marked the 16th by-election since Singapore's first election in 1948 and came just months after the 2012 Hougang by-election, occurring under similar circumstances but involving a different MP from the Workers' Party (WP).

On polling day, Lee Li Lian from the WP won the Punggol East seat from the PAP, securing 54.50% of the vote in a four-cornered contest. The PAP candidate Koh Poh Koon received 43.73% of the votes. The remaining candidates from the Reform Party (RP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) performed poorly, earning only 1.20% and 0.57% respectively, well below the 12.5% threshold and losing their election deposits.