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SDP to launch election preparations in January

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) announced today (Dec 5) that it would launch its preparations next month for the coming general election, two years before the elections are due.

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) says it will launch preparations next month for the coming General Election. Photo: SDP Facebook page

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) says it will launch preparations next month for the coming General Election. Photo: SDP Facebook page

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SINGAPORE – The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) announced today (Dec 5) that it would launch its preparations next month for the coming general election, two years before the elections are due.

“There are indications that PM Lee Hsien Loong will call for elections in 2015... Depending on circumstances, Mr Lee may call for one as early as the second quarter of 2015. It is, therefore, not early at all for the SDP to step up our campaign and prepare ourselves for the much anticipated contest,” SDP said on its website.

However, political watchers whom TODAY spoke to felt it was unlikely for the GE to be called so early.

Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong noted that certain processes such as the formation of the electoral boundaries committee have not begun. He added that early-2016 would still be a good window for the ruling People Action’s Party (PAP) to tap on the goodwill generated by the SG50 celebrations next year.

Singapore Management University law lecturer Eugene Tan also predicted that the GE will be held in the first quarter of 2016 when the “feel-good effect” would linger. “The longer runway will give the ruling party the opportunity to present as best a report as it could when it goes to the polls,” he said.

He added that should an election be called next year, it was unlikely to be held within the first nine months of next year as it “may not go down well with voters because they might see the PAP seeking to capitalise on the likely feel-good mood that would accompany Singapore’s 50th anniversary celebrations”.

Still, the political watchers felt that it is timely for SDP to ramp up its preparations. Unlike the Worker’s Party, SDP and other opposition parties have a lower profile because they lack parliamentary presence, said Associate Professor Tan, making it important for these parties to start their campaigns sooner rather than later.

Mr Siew noted that opposition parties have been accused of being idle between elections. “All political parties should always be active... even if there’s no immediate prospect of elections,” he said.

Assoc Prof Tan added: “Parties will have to start as early as they can because in the constituency they want to contest, they would want to have a sense of whether voters there are receptive to that particular party.”

SDP said on its website that it has been “hard at work conducting our ground campaign and drawing up our alternative policies”.

“We are now at the stage where we need to effectively communicate our policies ... If we wait until elections are announced before we start increasing the tempo, it will be too late and we will have lost the battle,” it added.

Next year marks the 35th anniversary of SDP. A series of activities will be organised to commemorate the occasion and complement its election campaign, SDP said.

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