Timing of next GE a ‘very difficult decision’, but holding it during Covid-19 outbreak ‘can be done’: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that he “would not rule any possibility out” regarding the timing of the next General Election (GE), which is expected to be held against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I think once all the requirements are cleared, and that includes the electoral boundaries which have been reported, the electoral rolls have to be certified and republished,” he said.

“Once that is done, that means all possibilities are there. I will have to judge the situation.”

Mr Lee was speaking on Friday (March 27) at the Istana in an interview with CNA, Channel 8, The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao on the Covid-19 crisis and the Resilience Budget, which was delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Thursday. A transcript of the interview was provided to other media outlets.

During the interview, Mr Lee was asked about his considerations on when to call for a GE, and how he saw the campaigning and other electioneering activities panning out during this period.

Mr Lee reiterated that it would be “a very difficult decision because we are going into a very big storm and you want to have the strongest team and mandate, and the longest runway so that Singapore can have the best leadership to see it through this storm”.

“That is a very desirable and an essential requirement for us to see through this together. If we were sure that the thing could settle within the next six months, I think we can say well, let us wait for six months, let things calm down, then we carry on," he said.

“But nobody can say. I expect that it can easily get worse before it gets better. You have to make a judgement in this situation with an outbreak going on with all sorts of exceptional measures implemented in Singapore — is it possible for us to conduct an election and to get this done, so that we clear the decks and we can go through and deal with whatever lies ahead of us.”

He added that if a country was shut down totally with everyone staying at home, like in the case of the United Kingdom, “then nothing can be organised”.

“But short of that situation, even when you have restrictions and some safe-distancing measures, life still goes on.

“People are working, people can travel... and countries have been conducting elections,” he said, pointing to examples such as Israel and the United States where several states have gone ahead with their primary elections.

While some countries have postponed their polls, most have carried on, he noted, so the problems of holding a GE during the crisis are “to a large extent, solvable”.

“You have to think of solutions for them, but it can be done,” he said. “I think that we have to weigh conducting an election under abnormal circumstances, against going into a storm with a mandate which is reaching the end of its term. We have to make a decision on that.”

HOW 4G LEADERS ARE HANDLING THE CRISIS

Mr Lee was also asked about his assessment of how the fourth-generation (4G) political leaders are handling the Covid-19 crisis.

In response, he said that he was “very happy” that National Development Minister Lawrence Wong and Health Minister Gan Kim Yong were appointed to chair the multi-ministry task force.

He noted that Mr Heng was advising them and closely supervising the group. Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister and widely expected to succeed Mr Lee when he steps down, was also described by Mr Lee as being “instrumental” in putting together Budget 2020 and the Resilience Budget.

On the 4G leaders, Mr Lee added: “I think people have seen them and they have watched them respond. They have watched them answer questions, deal with emergency situations — runs on food, runs on toilet rolls, big outbreaks, bad news — I think that they have gained experience and confidence. I believe that they have also gained trust and rapport with the people.”

The crisis is a “formative experience” for the general population and the country’s leadership, Mr Lee said.

While the earlier generations had gone through challenging times, Mr Lee noted that before the Covid-19 crisis, Singapore has enjoyed “stable circumstances” for quite a long time.

“People worked hard and they take life seriously. At the same time, they cannot quite imagine what it is like when things are turned totally upside down — suddenly, when everything that you assumed was secure, your job, your health, your family, is at risk.”

He added: “We regularly tell people Singapore is fragile, what we have achieved is precious, we have to continue to work hard, it can disappear in a moment if you take your eye off the ball. People listen to us, but at the back of their mind, they do wonder if it is true or not. After all, the show has gone on for so many years. Maybe you can go on autopilot.”

But the current crisis has brought home the stark message.

“This shows everybody that it is quite serious — it is absolutely existential, life and death. It is not masak-masak (play things). I think, if you come through this, you have more than one generation settled, knowing what Singapore is about,” he said.