There is an important election (again!) - but most of us do not have to vote this time.

The Workers' Party (WP), Singapore's number one opposition party, will hold its party conference on Sunday to elect a new team to its Central Executive Council (CEC).

The CEC is WP's top decision-making body and will consist of 14 members including their Secretary General (Low Thia Khiang) and Chairman (Sylvia Lim).

Current 17-member CEC

Why is this significant? 

The biennial election is significant because it will help WP identify its next generation of leaders to take over Low and Lim.

With 28 new cadres included in the election, observers will be watching to see if there is a consensus among WP cadres on its next generation leadership.

The team elected in next CEC election in 2018 is likely to be the group to lead WP in the next GE.

No change among the top two posts, CEC changes unlikely to reveal who will take over the top two. 

According to The Straits Times, both Low and Lim are "expected to retain their positions unopposed, as they have the confidence of a majority of the CEC and most cadres".

But at least 3 current CEC members will be out.

WP CEC is now a bloated 17-member committee.

According to WP's constitution, the CEC "shall consist in all of 14 members and may itself co-opt not more than 7 Organising members".

In other words, at least three current CEC members will be voted out. If there is an injection of younger talents, four or more members will be ousted.

The last CEC election saw the emergence of two co-opted members who were elected to the CEC — NCMPs Dennis Tan and Daniel Goh.

However, watch out for new appointments as they may indicate the emergence of WP's 3rd-Gen leadership (after JB Jeyaretnam [1971-2001] and Low [2001 - present])

Lianhe Zaobao quoted political analysts who speculated that there may be Assistant Secretary Generals in the new CEC. Analysts also speculated that the front-runners for the positions will be Tan and Goh.

ST observed that Goh has been helping at Low's Meet-the-People Sessions, while Tan has been assisting Low in his administrative duties.

Low was a former Assistant Sec-Gen for a decade (1991 - 2001) before taking over as Sec-Gen. The position was cancelled in 2006.

Diversity and age could be among the key considerations for WP's leadership renewal.

Among the 17 CEC members, only two — Lim and former MP Lee Li Lian — are women.

Female representation (11.8 per cent) in WP's top leadership is slightly worse than the ruling PAP, which has six female leaders (16.2 per cent) out of 37 political office-holders.

Women used to be better represented in the 2012 CEC. However, four out of the six CEC members who failed to be re-elected were ladies.

Age is another factor.

Currently, eight out of the 17 WP CEC members are in their fifties.

It will be two steps forward and one step back for WP's leadership renewal plans if more than half of their leadership continue to cling to their positions in the CEC.

Who will be Low's dream team? Here is a prediction of the new WP CEC line-up:

The "Permanent Members" of the Council

1. Low, 59 - unchallenged as Sec Gen since 2001. MP since 1991. Will take over Chiam See Tong as the longest serving Opposition MP before next GE. Probability of  becoming CEC member: 10/10

2. Lim, 51 - unchallenged as Chairman since 2003. Will be the longest-serving WP Chairman if she is elected again. 10/10

The Members of Parliament

3. Chen Show Mao, 55 - Aljunied GRC MP and Treasurer. Received the most number of votes in 2014 and 2012. 10/10

4. Pritam Singh, 40 - Aljunied GRC MP and Organising Secretary. Said to have done well in 2014 CEC. 10/10

5. Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap, 40 - Aljunied GRC MP and CEC Member. 9/10

6. Png Eng Huat, 54 - Hougang SMC MP and CEC Member 9/10

The Parliamentarians and current CEC members with roles

In the GE rally last year, Low identified the candidates in East Coast GRC and Fengshan as future leaders of WP. These candidates include Goh, Tan, Gerald Giam, Leon Perera, and Mohamed Fairoz bin Shariff.

In fact, four of the five candidates mentioned fronted WP's GE 2015 Manifesto launch.

7. Goh, 42 - NCMP, Chair of Media Team and President of WP Youth Wing 9/10

8. Tan, 45 - NCMP and CEC Member 9/10

9. Giam, 38 - Former NCMP, Vice-Chair of Media Team 8/10

10. Perera, 45 - NCMP, Member of Media Team 8/10

11. Lee, 38 - Former MP and Organising Secretary. Said to have done well in 2014 CEC 8/10

The final three

Among the last three, Kenneth Foo stands the best chance of being elected into the CEC. Both Foo and Cheryl Loh are now the faces of WP's YouTube video series, The Working Show, which discusses current affairs issues and features an interview with a prominent WP member.

12. Foo, 39 - CEC Member and Deputy Organising Secretary. Insiders told Lianhe Zaobao that Foo, who led the Nee Soon GRC team, is bilingual and displays excellent organising abilities, earning the praises of party leaders. 6.5/10

13. Mohamed Fairoz, 37 - CEC Member and Webmaster. He could well be the second Malay representative, replacing Mohamad Rahizan, who will be in his 60s this year. 6.5/10

14. Loh, 32 - Lianhe Zaobao also highlighted the possibility of Loh being elected or co-opted, so as to increase the women representation in the CEC. 5.5/10

Related articles:

3 things about the Workers’ Party reshuffle you’ll be okay not knowing about until 2020

Everything you need to know about the Workers’ Party CEC Election 2014 in 60 seconds

Top photo from Pritam Singh Facebook page.

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.