Member of Parliament

Two independent candidates who ran in the May general election are now aiming to become Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs).

The two men who have thrown their hats into the ring are:

• Darryl Lo: The former candidate for Radin Mas, who confirmed he has already submitted his nomination papers online. He quickly made his bid since he was heading off for National Service reservist training.
• Jeremy Tan: The former candidate for Mountbatten, who also confirmed that he intends to submit his application before the deadline.

Mr. Lo secured 23.52% of the votes in Radin Mas, while Mr. Tan garnered 36.18% of the votes in Mountbatten  in the 2025 General Election (GE2025).

The deadline for NMP applications is 4.30pm on November 6. All applications will go to the eight-member Special Select Committee, which is led by Speaker Seah Kian Peng. The total number of applications received will only be revealed after the deadline has passed.

Mr. Lo believes the NMP role is “a different ball game” compared to being an elected MP. While NMPs don’t have a town council to manage, they still get to discuss and debate national policies.

Mr. Lo explained his reason for trying to become an NMP: “I want the NMP seat to ensure that at least an ordinary youth’s voice is heard in parliament and to push for policy changes that will benefit Singapore and Singaporeans.” He ensured that all his sponsors—his proposer, seconder, and six assentors—are youths above the voting age.

His run in GE2025 showed that he is not against any party, focusing instead on pushing for real change. He also noted that Singaporeans seem to appreciate independent voices, especially after two NMPs, Raj Joshua Thomas and Syed Harun Alhabsyi, resigned early and later joined the PAP. Mr. Lo said he hopes the committee will “bring back trust to the NMP scheme.”

Mr. Tan agreed, saying that without a party, the NMP scheme is “one of many avenues available in Singapore for independent voices to look out for fellow Singaporeans.” He hopes to bring the lessons he learned from his election run to Parliament.

To qualify as an NMP, a person must meet a few requirements:

• Be a Singapore citizen, at least 21 years old, and a registered voter.
• Be a Singapore resident for a total of at least 10 years.
• Be proficient enough in English, Malay, Mandarin, or Tamil to participate in Parliament.

While seven “functional groups” can propose nominees, a person can also be proposed by a member of the public. Every nominee needs a proposer, a seconder, and at least four assentors.

Singapore Management University (SMU) associate professor of law, Eugene Tan, who is also a former NMP, said this is “probably the first time unsuccessful independent election candidates are seeking to be appointed as NMPs.” He stressed that the election run won’t matter much to the committee, as the criteria for NMP appointments are completely different. He said the appointments could be a “consolation” for their election efforts.

Another expert noted that the two men have shown they are “qualified and credible” and are now looking for a systematic way to continue their public work.

The committee will interview the candidates and consult elected MPs before submitting a final list to the President for appointment.