Pritam Singh has retained his position as leader of the Workers' Party after a special cadre conference convened in Singapore to weigh his future. The meeting was called by 25 cadre members of the country's biggest opposition party, who had pressed for a gathering to discuss whether Singh should remain at the helm, and it ended with him keeping the role of secretary-general, a post he has held since 2018.
The conference comes in the wake of Singh's conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee, a legal outcome that has placed his leadership under fresh scrutiny from within his own ranks. The decision by a group of cadres to formally request the meeting signals that the issue has become too pressing for the party to leave unaddressed.
According to the agenda set out for the members, the first item is for Pritam Singh to explain his conviction directly to the cadres and to answer any questions they may have. The format is designed to give party members a chance to hear his account in person before any decision on his position is taken.
The second item on the agenda is the question of whether Singh should step down voluntarily from his role. The third provides that, should he choose not to do so, he would again be required to explain his conviction and respond to questions from the members, keeping the matter of his leadership squarely before the cadres.
The proceedings are being chaired by junior GRC Member of Parliament Gerald Giam, who also serves as the party's head of policy research. His role at the head of the meeting places a sitting Member of Parliament in charge of guiding what is shaping up to be a sensitive internal discussion for the Workers' Party.
Ahead of the session, party members were seen making their way into the building, among them Member of Parliament Dennis Tan, who was spotted holding a ballot box. Beyond brief greetings, none of those arriving stopped to speak with the media, underscoring the closed and internal nature of the deliberations.
The special cadre conference is not the only item on the party's calendar for the day. Members were told that, once it concludes, the Workers' Party will move on to its biennial ordinary cadre conference, which was slated to begin at 3pm, extending what is already a closely watched day of meetings for Singapore's leading opposition force.