SINGAPORE — The National Solidarity Party (NSP) has confirmed it will not be contesting in MacPherson Single Member Constituency (SMC), making way for the People Power Party (PPP) candidate Goh Meng Seng.

NSP president Reno Fong told TODAY that the party had discussed the matter and decided to allow the “better fit candidate” to run.

”We’ll step back to allow Goh Meng Seng to contest in MacPherson and avoid a three-corner fight,” he said.

PPP secretary-general Goh Meng Seng told TODAY on Saturday (June 27) during his walkabout at MacPherson Market and Food Centre that there will not be a three-cornered fight in MacPherson SMC.

“The first thing I did before I decided (to contest in MacPherson) was to give a courtesy call to NSP”, he said.

“When I made the decision to run in MacPherson, I had a certain confidence that we would have an understanding and there would not be a problem.”

NSP previously contested the MacPherson ward during GE2015 in a three-cornered fight with the Workers’ Party and People’s Action Party. NSP garnered 0.82 per cent of the vote.

Earlier this week, it announced that it would not contest in Pioneer SMC as it had initially planned, giving way to the Progress Singapore Party.

NSP has confirmed it will still be contesting in two group representation constituencies (GRCs): Tampines GRC and Sembawang GRC.

Mr Goh announced one of his two manifestos in a Facebook post on Saturday, detailing PPP’s plans for MacPherson SMC. 

The manifesto focuses on three areas: Public housing, Singapore’s ageing population and social welfare services.

Some suggestions he made include bringing forward en bloc schemes for Housing and Development Board flats in the estate, building a community hospital in the area and setting up a soup kitchen in the estate.

He also plans to have social services such as counselling available for residents and a free traditional Chinese medicine clinic. 

Mr Goh has yet to release the second manifesto which is said to contain the party’s plans at a national level. He told TODAY that it will be out “before Nomination day” next Tuesday.