SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party's (WP) inner circle will meet on June 28 to discuss if party chief Pritam Singh (pic) remains suitable to carry on as secretary-general.
This will happen during a special cadre members’ conference which the party announced via a written notice, Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao reported on June 1.
The notice had three items on its agenda.
First, Pritam has been asked to account to cadres for his two convictions of lying to a parliamentary committee.
The second item asks that Pritam resign as party chief for breaching Article 30 of the WP’s Constitution, which requires any party nominee in public office to be “honest and frank in all his dealings with the party and the people of Singapore”.
If he does not resign, he will face a secret vote by cadres to determine if he should remain in the post, according to the notice.
Pritam, in his fourth term as an MP for Aljunied GRC, has been party chief since 2018.
The WP has roughly 100 cadres, which form its inner circle and elect its leadership.
The meeting is scheduled for noon on June 28 and will be chaired by Aljunied GRC MP Gerald Giam, who is WP’s policy research head.
A group of long-time cadres had in December 2025 requested the special cadre members’ conference, after the High Court upheld Pritam’s February convictions.
WP’s Constitution states that such a conference can be called at any time by the party’s chair, the central executive committee (CEC), or 10 per cent of the cadre membership or at least 20 cadre members, whichever is higher.
The notice also states that the party will hold its regular cadre meeting and leadership election at 3pm on the same day.
These elections, held every two years, are where cadres decide the party’s top leaders, including the secretary-general, chairperson and other members of the CEC.
Pritam took over from long-time party chief Low Thia Khiang in April 2018, and has since run unopposed for the top job in the elections.
The special cadre members’ conference comes after the decision by the WP’s CEC, its top leadership body, to issue Pritam a letter of reprimand in April 2026 for his convictions.
The CEC considered the findings of a disciplinary panel comprising Sengkang GRC MPs He Ting Ru and Jamus Lim, as well as former Hougang MP Png Eng Huat, which had found that Pritam had contravened two articles of the party’s Constitution.
These were articles 20(1) and 30.
The WP said the CEC separately considered that “at all material times, Pritam did not have any intention to act in a manner contrary to the principles, aims, or objects of the party, or prejudicial to the welfare of the party”.
It added that his actions ultimately reflected judgment calls that he had to make.
“In considering the range of potential actions to be taken against Mr Singh, the CEC assessed the totality of the circumstances and has issued a formal letter of reprimand to him,” the party said in its statement.
The WP later said in response to queries that there are “currently no restrictions on Pritam that prevent him from seeking office” at the next party election, which is due by 2026 and typically held around mid-year.
Analysts said then that this outcome indicated the party leadership’s support for Pritam, and that his fate as leader will lie in the hands of its cadres. - The Straits Times/ANN
