The by-election was called by PresidentTony Tan Keng Yam at the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the seat of Punggol East was left vacant when then the incumbent, then Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer, resigned from his seat due to him having an extramarital affair. A local tabloid, The New Paper, reported that they received a tip-off on 8 December 2012, in the form of screengrabs of phone messages that the Speaker of Parliament, Michael Palmer was having an extramarital affair. The messages suggested that the two had close relationship and met regularly on Mondays. The New Paper also stated that they have been in this relationship for a year. On the same Saturday, Palmer met DPM Teo Chee Hean to tender his resignation as speaker and MP. The next day, PM Lee Hsien Loong met Palmer to confirm his resignation. On 12 December 2012, the PAP called a press conference where Palmer announced that he resigned to "take full responsibility for a grave mistake" for having an improper relationship with a PA staff, Laura Ong. Although Ong did not work under Palmer, Punggol East used to be under the Pasir Ris- Punggol division and Punggol East still works together on constituencies affairs. DPM Teo Chee Hean, at the press conference announced that Mr Teo Ser Luck will be the caretaker MP for Punggol East.
Confirmation of by-election
On 9 January 2013, President Tony Tan Keng Yam issued a writ of election for the electoral division of Punggol East. Nomination Day was on 16 January 2013 while the nomination centre was at North Vista Secondary School. Since the election was contested, the Returning Officer, Yam Ah Mee, directed that the election be adjourned for a poll to be taken on 26 January 2013.
Candidates
On 10 January 2013, PAP unveiled their candidate to stand in the by-election, Dr Koh Poh Koon, a 40-year-old colorectal surgeon from Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. On 14 January 2013, the Workers' Party unveiled 34-year-old financial institution trainer Lee Li Lian as its candidate for the Punggol East by-election. She obtained 41% of the valid votes in the 2011 General Election in the same ward. In a press statement to the media on 15 January 2013, the Singapore Democratic Alliance said they would field 44-year-old Desmond Lim Bak Chuan to run in the by-election. He obtained 4.5% of votes in the 2011 General Election in the same ward. At a news conference outside Rivervale Plaza late on the evening on 15 January 2013, the Reform Party announced 53-year-old Kenneth Jeyaretnam as its candidate for the Punggol East by-election. The Singapore Democratic Party expressed interest in contesting the election, even proposing a joint campaign with the WP. However, on 15 January 2013, the SDP announced its decision not to contest the by-election. There were potential independent candidates who declared their intentions to run. They included former People's Liberal Democratic Party founder Ooi Boon Ewe, retired acupuncturistZeng Guoyuan and former Singapore People's Party member Benjamin Pwee, who later pulled out of the race, citing the lack of time to run under a party banner as a reason for pulling out.
Results
Results were announced on 10.57pm where WP's Lee was declared candidate-elect with a 54.52% out of 29,415 valid votes, beating PAP's rival Koh with a 43.71% vote. Two candidates had forfeited their $14,500 election deposit, namely Jeyaretnam and Lim with 1.20% and 0.57% respectively, with the latter becoming the second candidate to have his election deposit forfeited twice since Harbans Singh, and setting a record-low vote share surpassing Teo Kim Hoe's former record of 196 votes or 0.81%, in post-independence Singapore; Lim's vote count would later be shattered in the 2015 elections by another candidate, Samir Salim Neji, with 150 votes or 0.60%.
Aftermath
The election had seen another setback for the PAP since the formation of the 12th Parliament after the 2011 election where WP wrestled Aljunied GRC. WP also made a history with Lee becoming the first female MP to ward a SMC and the second female MP after WP's chair Sylvia Lim. It was also the second by-election since 1981 in which PAP lost a parliamentary seat of Anson SMC during the term to the opposition. Lee was sworn-in to parliament a week later on 4 February. Prime Minister Lee congratulated WP for the victory and stated that the party respected the voter's result, and further cited that in a by-election, voters was seen choosing for a MP and not government, and encouraged them to vote for the opposition. In the 2015 elections, PAP's Koh would be MP-elect for the Yio Chu Kang division under Ang Mo Kio GRC, but Lee was unable to retain the seat for a second term and returning the PAP-fold to Joo Chiat SMC candidate Charles Chong in a narrow winning margin. Punggol East SMC would be defunct on a redistricting of boundaries in the 2020 Singaporean general election under a new constituency of Sengkang GRC, which WP would go on to win.
