Pritam Singh kept his post as secretary-general of Singapore's Workers' Party after a special cadres conference held on June 28, 2026, where he faced a secret vote prompted by internal challenges following a court conviction last December [1, 2].
The vote came after a group of about 25 party cadres—about a quarter of the party’s inner circle of just over 100 members—requested a special conference to question Singh over his December 2025 High Court conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee, and to push for his resignation [1, 3, 4]. Singh said, "They called for the meeting and I think I have to share that they followed what cadres are allowed to do under our constitution, and we respect that process" [5].
Before the vote, Singh gave a detailed account of the court ruling and answered cadres’ questions at the conference [2, 6, 5]. Gerald Giam, a senior MP, said the discussion was "robust and civil" and that Singh addressed all questions. Giam added cadres voted "well in excess of the supermajority" to keep Singh as secretary-general, reflecting the party’s commitment to democratic and due process [2].
No official challenger emerged despite speculation about several senior MPs including Gerald Giam, Dennis Tan, He Ting Ru, and Jamus Lim [1, 7, 8, 9]. Former party leader Low Thia Khiang publicly supported Singh before the conference, responding "Yes." when asked if he backed the incumbent [4].
Pritam Singh has held the position since 2018 and was re-elected unopposed in 2020, 2022, and 2024 [4]. After surviving the challenge, the party held its biennial ordinary cadres conference the same day. Singh was re-elected secretary-general and Sylvia Lim was elected chairperson of the central executive committee (CEC) [2, 6, 5].
Alongside Singh and Lim, 12 other members, including Low Thia Khiang and lawyer Harpreet Singh, were elected to the CEC [2, 6].
Singh said, "I’m quite sure they respect the democratic process as we all do. And the decision was what the cadres decided it ought to be" [5]. Giam noted the vote "reflects the party’s commitment to the democratic process and due process given to Mr Singh, and to everybody who wanted to requisition this special meeting" [2].
