East Coast GRC was formed in
1997 as a six-member GRC, a merger of the GRCs of
Bedok and
Eunos. It was downsized from six members to five following the redrawing of divisions into
Marine Parade GRC in 2006.
Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency was carved out of the GRC in 2001, and was later absorbed by
Marine Parade GRC for the
2015 elections. A large portion of the
Kaki Bukit division and 60% of
Kampong Chai Chee was transferred from East Coast GRC to
Marine Parade GRC. Chew Heng Ching,
Tan Soo Khoon and
Lee Yock Suan left Parliament due to old age in 2006, followed by
S Jayakumar and
Abdullah Tarmugi in 2011. The offshore island of
Coney Island was transferred to Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC in 2015, while
Fengshan SMC was carved out and East Coast GRC was left with four members. East Coast GRC was increased in size to five after the elimination of Fengshan SMC in preparation for the
2020 general election. The
People's Action Party (PAP) won in a walkover in the
1997 and
2001 general elections. It saw its first contest in the
2006 general election from the
Workers' Party (WP) and has since seen straight fights between the two parties. In both 2011 and 2015, WP candidates entered parliament as
non-constituency MPs (NCMPs) via the GRC. In October 2015,
Lee Yi Shyan stepped down from his ministerial post after suffering from a stroke in May of the same year. Prior to the
2020 general election, incumbent MP
Lim Swee Say retired from politics. During Nomination Day on 30 June 2020,
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat was nominated for East Coast GRC instead of
Tampines GRC, which he had been representing for two terms since 2011. The move surprised political observers but was explained as Heng filling a succession gap for Lim. The plan became popularly known as the "East Coast Plan" among Singaporeans and on social media. On 10 July 2020, the five-member PAP team led by Heng won 53.41% of the vote against the
Workers' Party. It was the second closest result after
West Coast GRC. In 2025, Loyang, Flora, Changi Village, Changi Airfreight Centre and Changi Airport, which had been in Siglap ward, were moved to the newly created
Pasir Ris–Changi GRC. Changi South and Changi Business Park were merged into the Changi–Simei ward after the election. The GRC also absorbed Joo Chiat ward from the defunct
Marine Parade GRC. The Fengshan ward was merged with the remainder of Siglap. Ahead of the
2025 general election, incumbent MP
Cheryl Chan announced her retirement from politics on 21 April 2025, citing a desire to spend more time with family. On 23 April 2025, the Nomination Day for the
2025 general election, Heng appeared at the nomination center but was not listed in the nomination papers for East Coast GRC nor other constituencies. Heng subsequently confirmed that he would not contest the election in a Facebook post. The PAP team contesting the GRC consisted of incumbent East Coast MPs
Tan Kiat How and
Jessica Tan, two political newcomers,
Dinesh Vasu Dash and
Hazlina Abdul Halim, and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
Edwin Tong, who led the team after his ward of Joo Chiat was transferred from Marine Parade GRC. WP fielded a team, consisting of
Yee Jenn Jong, who was the team leader and a former NCMP, Nathaniel Koh, Paris V. Parameswari, Sufyan Mikhail Putra and Jasper Kuan, to contest the GRC. The PAP team won the contest with almost 59 percent of the votes, an increase of around 5.5 percent. ==Members of Parliament==