Singapore's pandemic-proof poll

I wonder who will win

June 24, 2020

Hello friends!

Holy heck did I get blindsided. After months of typing ’speculation of an imminent announcement of an election, which must be held by blah blah blah’ and it suddenly I got the Straits Times push notification while waiting for a bus. How anti-climactic!

This is a quickie look at what’s been said so far and what we know happens next. Nominations close next week and after that, we’ll take a further look at who is running, what are the issues and we’ll have to get into what this means for the next generation of leaders.

Premium readers can expect to hear from me again tomorrow with the regional look and if you’d like to join us for that do so here:

And Asean or Timorese nationals under 30 - hit that reply and I’ll activate your free membership. Speaking of, if you’re Singaporean and voting for the first time I would love to hear from you!

Thanks,Erin Cook

I lost this book somewhere between this meal at Tiong Bahru hawker and my parents’ place in South Canberra. If you find it, please call me.

After months of speculation towards the end of last year and then the chaos in the wake of the pandemic — here it is! Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in a televised address Tuesday that President Halimah Yacob has issued the Writ of Election after dissolving parliament.

Beauty! So now what?

Election Day will fall on July 10 and it’s going to look very different. In the past, it’s been infamously difficult to get whipped into too much of a frenzy in the Singaporean democracy party but with the pandemic front and centre, this will be very compelling.

Candidates must nominate before June 30 with campaigning lasting the minimum period of nine days before the Cooling Off Day ahead of the 10th, as per the Straits Times.

Why now?

PM Lee says that now is the best time. The COVID-19 situation is ‘relatively stable’ within the country and while economic recovery is expected to be a long one, getting the vote done and dusted is an important step towards that.

“We need a capable government, with the strong backing of the people, to do all that needs to be done on your behalf, and see us through these tumultuous times. An election now — when things are relatively stable — will clear the decks, and give the new government a fresh five-year mandate,” he said during the address.

How will it look?

COVID-safe election measures were announced by the Elections Department earlier this month. Dewey Sim for the South China Morning Post listed those measures, including introducing ’time bands’ for casting a vote so citizens do not violate social distancing policies.

What’s interesting to me here is how this will look for campaigning. “Should prevailing health advisories restrict large group activities, the Elections Department will ensure that voters have access to the campaigning messages of all political parties and candidates. This may include additional TV broadcast time for candidates and political parties,” the Elections Department said in a statement. It also advised parties to strategise and plan for non-traditional modes of campaigning.

Which, in theory, sounds reasonable enough. In practice, however, this will be something to watch closely. Opposition figures have already said that holding elections during the pandemic period gives an advantage to the ruling People’s Action Party.

Still, bring it on, says the Workers Party.

Reading list:

Apart from the loss to Singaporeans, who already have so few opportunities to (legally) gather in physical spaces for political causes, the lack of rallies are a blow to opposition parties. With such a short campaigning period, these smaller (in relation to the ruling People’s Action Party) parties have traditionally used rallies to introduce their candidates and blast their messages to a large number of people in a small amount of time.

Then there’s the emotional impact: the excitement, the passion, the momentum generated by people gathered to listen to speeches, heckle or shout encouragement, chat to other attendees, buy party merchandise, eat ice cream while sitting on the grass. The buzz of the atmosphere can make one feel bolder, braver, safer. This is something that’s going to be very difficult — perhaps impossible — to replicate, if people are just going to be sitting before laptop and television screens in their homes.

If the PAP indeed wins again, 68-year-old Prime Minister Lee is expected to hand the reins of power to a successor during the government’s next term. The heir apparent is Heng Swee Keat, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, who has filled in for Lee as acting prime minister in the past.

The coming election is thus seen as a test for Heng, 59, and a cast of younger politicians known as the “4G” or fourth generation. The first generation, of course, was led by Lee Kuan Yew — Lee Hsien Loong’s father and the city-state’s first prime minister — who died in 2015

The election is seen as a litmus test for Singapore’s new generation of leaders, with Lee, a scion of the city-state’s founding family, planning to step down in the coming years.

While surveys show government satisfaction is high, people are most concerned about living costs and the gap between rich and poor in the wealthy city-state, a recent poll by BlackBox Research showed.

Even small shifts in support for the ruling party can spur policy changes that affect many international firms based in the Asian business hub.

After its worst result in 2011, although it still secured 60% of the vote, the PAP accelerated foreign labour curbs to allay citizens’ unease about immigration levels and the impact on job prospects and property prices.

Reply

or to participate.