Singapore goes to the polls on Sept 11
SINGAPORE — After months of speculation and anticipation, Singaporeans will head to the polls on Sept 11 after President Tony Tan Keng Yam yesterday (Aug 25) dissolved Parliament and issued the writ of election on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
SINGAPORE — After months of speculation and anticipation, Singaporeans will head to the polls on Sept 11 after President Tony Tan Keng Yam yesterday (Aug 25) dissolved Parliament and issued the writ of election on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Political parties will have nine days to campaign — the minimum period under the election laws — before Cooling-off Day on Sept 10.
Candidates have to submit the nomination papers — in the presence of their proposers, seconders and at least four assentors — between 11am and noon on Nomination Day, at one of nine designated Nomination Centres depending on which ward they intend to contest.
Polling Day is on a Friday, which will be a public holiday. This is the first time in almost two decades that voters would head to the ballot box on a weekday. Votes were cast on a Saturday for the previous three GEs in 2011, 2006 and 2001. In the 1997 GE, it was on a Thursday — a day after New Year’s Day. The coming General Election (GE) holds particular significance, not least for the fact that it is being held in the same year that the Republic celebrates its 50th year as a nation.
It will also be the first elections since Independence without founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March and had remained as a Member of Parliament after stepping down from Cabinet in 2011.
There will be 89 Parliamentary seats to be filled. Whether history will also be made with all constituencies contested for the first time since 1963 will be known on Nomination Day, which falls on Sept 1.
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Opposition parties have indicated so far that they will gun for all 16 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and 13 Single-Member Constituencies (SMCs), with three-cornered fights expected in the MacPherson and Potong Pasir SMCs.
The coming GE could be the last hurrah for Mr Lee and other Cabinet Ministers, as the fourth general leadership takes shape.
Mr Lee, 63, had previously said that he plans to hand over the reins by 2020, and the current Cabinet “will not be around forever”.
Writing on Facebook yesterday, Mr Lee reiterated a message that he had delivered at the National Day Rally on Sunday: “I called this general election to seek your mandate to take Singapore beyond SG50, into its next half century. You will be deciding who will govern Singapore for the next 5 years. More than that, you will be choosing the team to work with you for the next 15 to 20 years, and setting the direction for Singapore for the next 50 years,” he said.
Taking a different tack from the previous GEs, the People’s Action Party has been introducing its line-ups for various constituencies in advance. Potential candidates for all constituencies, except for four GRCs — Aljunied, East Coast, Marine Parade and Nee Soon — and two SMCs (Fengshan and Punggol East). These are the constituencies either held by the Workers’ Party, or tipped by political watchers to see tougher fights.
Opposition parties — including the Singapore Democratic Party and the Reform Party — have started to unveil their candidates. The Workers’ Party (WP), which has staked its claim on five GRCs and five SMCs early on, has said its seven incumbents — including Mr Low Thia Khiang and Ms Sylvia Lim — would stay put to defend their seats. The WP is expected to unveil its other candidates from today.
Political analysts noted the long build-up to the GE — elections talk had reared its head several months ago — and while the announcement yesterday was widely expected after possible dates have been bandied about, the anticipation was palpable. The coming GE was the talk of the town yesterday and social media was also abuzz with elections chatter.
Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said: “Voters can expect a roller coaster of a ride, rich in highs and lows. All befitting of what promises to be the most keenly contested GE. Voters will be exercised both cognitively and affectively. And voters will have to rise to the occasion.”