History and political development
PPP was formed by veteran politician Goh Meng Seng on 16 July 2015 just a few months prior to the election held that year. Goh had previously served as a member of the Worker's Party (WP) and National Solidarity Party (NSP), in 2006 and 2011, respectively. In the aftermath of the 2011 election, Goh resigned from NSP's Secretary General position, and relinquished his party membership.
2015 General Election
PPP contested the four-member Chua Chu Kang GRC, with a team consisting of Goh, Lee Tze Shih, Low Wai Choo and former NSP member Syafarin Sarif, against the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) team of Gan Kim Yong, Low Yen Ling, Zaqy Mohamad and Yee Chia Hsing. The PAP team defeated the party with a vote share of 76.83%-23.11%, which was 84,731 and 25,460 votes, respectively. PPP team's Low was notable for being convicted for an act of public nuisance for her role in a Hong Lim Park protest rally in 2014, while Lee joined the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in 2019.
Goh, despite being a veteran politician, was surprised by the number of voters that turned out to vote for PPP, as he claimed that his party lacked media coverage; although they were among the worst performing candidates in the election. Shortly after the election, he returned to Hong Kong to reside with his family.
In 2018, PPP along with six other opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), NSP, Reform Party (RP), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Singaporeans First (SF) and Peoples Voice (PV), and led by former PAP member of parliament and presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock, discussed the possibility of forming a coalition for the next election. [4]
In March 2020, PPP, SF, RP and DPP applied to join the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA). [5]
2020 General Election
PPP participated in the 2020 election, fielding their only candidate Goh to contest the MacPherson SMC. [6] On 27 June, Goh confirmed that this was to be his final election, reiterating his belief that he could contribute more to Parliament as an opposition member if elected, while praising the incumbent Tin Pei Ling for her dedication. [7] Goh was defeated by a 71.74%-28.26% vote share. [8]
By 21 Nov 2024, PPP had formed the People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) with three other parties: DPP, RP and PV. [9] On 23 February 2025, it was announced that PPP had withdrawn from the coalition, citing strategic differences, though it was stated that PPP would remain open to future collaboration with PAR. [10]
Manifesto
Objectives
The official objectives of PPP are: [12]
- To develop a one united Singapore with true multi-Party democracy and an economic system based on the principles of democratic socialism.
- To install a system of governance with proper balance and separation of five powers with socialist measures in place to cushion off the wealth and income inequalities so as to achieve stability, continuity and sustainability for Singapore.
- To advocate, promote and implement policies, when elected as ruling party or part of any ruling coalition, which are based on PPP's core values and ideologies as stipulated above.
- To build and maintain a strong national identity and loyalty to Singapore based on its' unique multi-ethnic mix and cultural identities, with emphasis on the ideals of unity, multi-culturalism, justice, equality and democracy as expounded in the national pledge of Singapore.
Policies
PPP firmly believes that democracy provides the necessary balance of powers needed for the long-term stability of Singapore. This is achieved through the distinct separation of five powers, which are: [13]
- Executive
- Legislative
- Judiciary
- Impeachment
- Selection
PPP finds that in order to achieve an effective and functioning democracy via separation of these five powers, the President of Singapore should be empowered to effectively oversee the faculties of Impeachment and Selection in the form of: [14]
In contrast, there are only three branches (Judiciary, Executive and Legislative) of the state as of 2025, and the President, as head of state, does not fall into any of the branches. [15]
PPP has also called for the introduction of a minimum wage in Singapore. [16]
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