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GE2020: Elections Department extends voting hours till 10pm, after long queues persist at ‘small number’ of polling stations

SINGAPORE — Less than an hour before voting was scheduled to end at 8pm on Friday (July 10), the Elections Department (ELD) announced that voting hours would be extended till 10pm to “allow enough time for all voters to cast their votes”.

Four smaller opposition parties have said that they intend to campaign under the banner of the newly-formed People's Alliance at the next General Election.

Four smaller opposition parties have said that they intend to campaign under the banner of the newly-formed People's Alliance at the next General Election.

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SINGAPORE — Less than an hour before voting was scheduled to end at 8pm on Friday (July 10), the Elections Department Singapore (ELD) announced that voting hours would be extended till 10pm to “allow enough time for all voters to cast their votes”.

“While the queue situation across most polling stations has improved, a small number continue to see long queues,” it said in a media statement.

Voters on stay-home notice, and those suffering from acute respiratory infections or having a fever, were initially scheduled to vote from 7pm to 8pm, but they would have to wait till the queues at their polling centres clear.

Those who show up at polling stations which still have long queues will be isolated in a separate holding area.

“This is to prevent this group of voters from mixing with other voters,” ELD said.

ELD urged those on stay-home notice to visit VoteQ.gowhere.gov.sg to check the situation for their polling stations, to avoid facing a long wait to cast their vote.

“If the queue is long, we urge you to only arrive at the polling station at 9pm,” said the ELD.

As of 8pm, 2,565,000 voters — 96 per cent of registered voters — had cast their votes across the island, said the ELD.

This turnout is higher than that during the 2015 General Election, which was 2,304,331 votes cast (93.56 per cent of registered voters) at the close of poll, the ELD added.

QUEUES LONG BUT ‘FAST-MOVING’, SAY VOTERS

Earlier on Friday, the ELD issued two apologies for the “longer than usual” queues, and said it had taken steps to improve the situation. This included doing away with the requirement for voters to wear disposable gloves, and increasing the number of registration and ballot paper issuance counters.

However, long queues were still being seen at several polling stations at around 6pm, leaving voters with about an hour before the 7pm time band originally allotted for those on stay-home notice.

Many of those in the queues were there because of their allotted timings, but the lines seemed to be moving quickly, voters told TODAY.

Mrs Chen Bee Hong, a 63-year-old retiree, said she had a 5pm to 7pm voting timeslot. She had been monitoring the queue at her polling centre, the MOE Language Centre in Newton, since 5pm.

“I was worried that I wouldn’t make it to vote before 7pm, so I left home at around 6pm even though the queue looked long when I checked online.

“It was actually quite fast, and I voted in about 20 minutes,” she said.

At Hai Sing Catholic School in Pasir Ris, Ms Syairah Watt Haaris Watt, 27, who works in digital marketing, said she had been monitoring the queues since 4pm.

She arrived at the centre at 6.30pm, within her 5pm to 7pm timeslot, and said the queue was “pretty fast”.

“I’m not worried about bumping into people on stay-home notice. We're all wearing masks,” she said.

One of the polling stations which was experiencing long queues after 8pm was Palm View Primary. Nevertheless, by 9pm, the queue for the polling station for Sengkang GRC had cleared.

One voter, Roy Lee, 42, who was entering the polling station past 9pm to cast his vote, said he estimated that the queue in the afternoon was “about 800m”, with “150 to 200” people in line.

He added that he drove past the polling station at about 5.30pm and saw the long queue, and decided to go home to have dinner. “At 7.30pm, my sister-in-law drove past and told me the queue was pretty long until the bus stop,” he said.

“I was relieved they extended it to 10pm,” he added.

In its statement, the ELD said it “seeks the understanding and cooperation of all voters, as we seek to clear the long queues at a small number of stations, while ensuring safe voting for all voters”. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LENA LOKE AND LATASHA SEOW

Related topics

Singapore General Election SGVotes2020 polling station Elections Department

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