Lee Morgenbesser (2017) The autocratic mandate: elections, legitimacy and regime stability in Singapore. Though Singapore used the same basic electoral system during this period, the expansion in the legislature’s size along with changes in political status of the country result in the definition of multiple electoral systems: Singapore 1 (1955): 25 seats (British colony). Copy link. He or she must have for a period of not less than three years held office —, as the most senior executive of a company with an average of $500 million in, in any other similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organisation or department of equivalent size or complexity in the, This page was last edited on 19 March 2021, at 13:18. N.B. 19(3)(c) and Art 19(4)(b). The Government in Singapore is modelled after the Westminster system, with 3 separate branches: the Legislature (which comprises the President and Parliament), the Executive (which comprises Cabinet Ministers and office-holders, and is led by the Prime Minister) and the Judiciary. Credit: Yahoo: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/municipal-projects-which-town-council-got-how-much-in-cipc-funds-090005428.html, check on their standing on the electoral register through the web. There is nothing to prevent him from gerrymandering the boundaries to advantage his party. Producer Thum Ping Tjin . Significant manpower is required. This Explainer presents an overview of Singapore’s electoral system, how it works, how and why it has been altered over the years, and the challenges it presents for representative democracy in Singapore. Singapore inherited from the British Colonial government a system which political theorists call the ‘simple plurality system’, known more popularly as the ‘first-past-the-post system’. The final category of members – the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) – was created in 1990. Furthermore, section 24(2A) of the Parliamentary Elections Act provides that no writ of election shall be issued ‘for an election to fill any vacancy unless all the Members for that constituency have vacated their seats in Parliament.’ The Court of Appeal held that as there was an inconsistency between Articles 46(2) and 49(1), the only meaningful way to interpret Article 49(1) was to hold that it applied only to SMCs and not to GRCs. SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT Branches of Government. Singapore is a stable, well-functioning democratic country. presidential. Political associations and candidates may only accept donations from ‘permissible donors’ and may not accept more than $5,000 of anonymous donations per annual reporting period. Such disqualifications may be removed by the President under Article 45(2) and if not so removed, shall automatically cease to apply after five years. [9] Opposition politician Sylvia Lim has stated in parliament,“The entire electoral boundary re-drawing process is completely shrouded in secrecy, chaired by the Secretary to the Cabinet. Following this, the entire election period really begins when the President dissolves the Parliament, on the Prime Minister’s advice. In the July 10, 2020 elections, Singapore’s political stalwart, the People’s Action Party (PAP), received 61.2% of the vote and won 83 out of 93 seats. On 2 March 2012, a Hougang constituency resident, Mdm Vellama d/o Marie Muthu filed an application for a declaration that: (a) the Prime Minister does not have unfettered discretion in deciding whether to announce by-elections in Hougang constituency; and (b) the Prime Minister does not have unfettered discretion to decide when to announce by-election in Hougang constituency, and must do so within three months or within such reasonable as the Court deems fit. Share. [12] Since 1965, 19 opposition politicians have been elected into parliament, including Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, Chiam See Tong, Low Thia Khiang, Ling How Doong, Cheo Chai Chen, Chen Show Mao, Yaw Shin Leong, Png Eng Huat, Lee Li Lian, and also ten incumbent candidates from the Workers' Party including leader Pritam Singh, chairwoman Sylvia Lim and MP Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap. The parliament of Singapore is unicameral with 93 seats. Many such as Lim Chin Siong, Said Zahari and Lim Hock Siew were accused by the government of being involved in subversive communist struggles. Polling takes place from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm. Tan, Netina (2013) ‘Manipulating electoral laws in Singapore’. In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office, the Government pointed out that the increased security measures at Singapore’s key overseas diplomatic missions ‘have seriously circumscribed the facilities for overseas voting’. Singapore also reserves parliamentary seats for Non-Constituency Members of Parliament, who are the “best losers” among the opposition candidates. But there are aspects of the political structure that critics say undeniably benefit … As such, each MP would serve between 20,000 and 37,000 electors. Implicit in this scheme is the right to vote. Singapore is a South-East Asian country which gained independence from Malaysia on August 9th, 1965. To date, there have been no applications to court for any ballot boxes to be unsealed and checked. The EBRC is constrained by its terms of reference and is thus unable to work outside its prescribed parameters. In 1997, 2001 and 2006, 2 opposition candidates were elected during each respective parliamentary election. Nomination papers must be filled up and delivered in duplicate to the Returning Office at the Nomination Centre between 11am and noon on Nomination Day. Every step of the election is overseen by all the different political parties. All the changes to the structure of Parliament were premised on certain assumptions – that the PAP would always remain dominant and in power; that opposition voices should be heard as a nod to plurality, but should never derail the common wisdom of the majority; that opposition parties continue to find it difficult recruit new members and poor quality candidates at that; and that the voting public would continue to choose their government pragmatically by opting for the tried and trusted PAP. At each polling station, the voting process is overseen by Presiding Officers and volunteers from each political party running in that constituency “polling agents”). It is part of New Naratif’s coverage of the Singapore General election 2020. This meant that MPs have responsibility for local services but no control over their funding, creating a mechanism through which the PAP could openly threaten voters, to punish constituencies which elect opposition parties by witholding public services until PAP constituencies had first been supplied. In other words, all vacancies shall be filled by the process of an election, as opposed to nomination, and did not require a writ of election to be issued within a specified time. At each polling station, there are three simultaneous queues for the polling booth, and in 2015 there were 833 polling stations. In 2015, there were only 10 embassies and high commissions that had the necessary security and personnel for the conduct of overseas voting. Wong Souk Yee, a member of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and resident of Marsiling-Yew Tee commenced an action demanding that the Prime Minister call a by-election. Watch later. Singapore's electoral system. Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - 05:50. He or she must not be subject to any of the following disqualifications: He or she must be a person of integrity, good character and reputation. Singapore's Westminster parliamentary system of government was adopted as a historical result of it being a British colony. The conduct of parliamentary elections in Singapore is governed by three main pieces of legislation: (a) the Constitution (Part VI); (b) the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap 218); and (c) the Political Donations Act (Cap 236). 21 Jun 2020 . A candidate’s deposit will only refunded if he or she polls at least 12.5 per cent of the valid votes cast. There are no public hearings, no minutes of meeting published. Within the parliamentary process, there are general elections and by-elections. In 2011, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew warned the Aljunied’s residents would “pay a price, the hard way” if the PAP lost Aljunied GRC. If the numerous changes and innovations to Singapore’s Parliament seems bewildering, one ought to only remember that the ruling PAP government has – like British parliamentarians – all along seen the legislature as the ultimate source of power. Get full analysis of how the political parties fare in the wards contested and their vote share compared to the last election. An otherwise qualified voter may be disqualified if he: (a) owes his allegiance to another state or foreign power; (b) is serving jail sentence ‘for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding 12 months’; (c) is under ‘sentence of death; (d) is of unsound mind; (e) is serving in ‘any naval, military or air force not maintained out of moneys provided by Parliament’; or (f) is registered as a voter in any country. During this period of campaigning (save for the final day), candidates can make house-to-house calls, distribute pamphlets, put up posters and banners and hold election rallies. The first presidential election was won by Ong Teng Cheong, a former member of the PAP. Singapore 2 … Singapore's electoral formula that uses the multi-member, party bloc vote plurality system for 85 percent of the seats is thus regressive, considering countries such as the U.K. after 1945, India after 1957 and Canada after 1968 have all abolished multi-member districts to avoid too much disproportionality. Singapore's Westminster parliamentary system of government was adopted as a historical result of it being a British colony. A member’s seat also becomes vacant if he or she: (a) ceases to be a citizen of Singapore; (b) ceases to be a member of, or is expelled or resigns from, the political party for which he stood in the election; (c) resigns his seat; (d) absents himself from sittings of Parliament for two consecutive months without the Speaker’s permission; (e) is disqualified under one of the provisions of Article 45; or (f) is expelled from Parliament. The Government in Singapore is modelled after the Westminster system, with 3 separate branches: the Legislature (which comprises the President and Parliament), the Executive (which comprises Cabinet Ministers and office-holders, and is led by the Prime Minister) and the Judiciary. Teams can hardly be expected to compete fairly if the rules of the game are changed at short notice. There is also very limited time allowed for parties to recruit, register, and train polling agents, because they are only allowed to do so after Nomination Day. They were introduced into Parliament to provide alternative views ‘held outside Parliament’. Before any general election is held, the EBRC must first issue its report which lays out the constituencies to be contested. However, as the graph below demonstrates, the fall in the number of minority MPs took place largely in the period where the PAP held all the seats in Parliament. For example, Sin Kek Tong, the Singapore People’s Party’s (SPP’s) candidate in the 1991 general elections, who announced very early on that he was contesting the Braddell Heights seat which had hitherto been a single-member constituency (SMC). Guide to the General Election in Singapore - YouTube. Assuming that every constituency is contested by two candidates, and assuming a minimum of 833 stations x 3 queues x 2 shifts x 2 parties, a total of 9,996 polling agents will need to be recruited; more if the constituency is contested by three or more candidates. The composition of the EBRC is not fixed by law but determined by the Prime Minister, acting in his discretion. Unlike in some other countries, there is no provision for postal voting. Yaw’s seat was declared vacant by the Speaker on 28 February 2012 and by-elections were anticipated. After the 1984 General Election, where two opposition candidates were elected, then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew stated that “the government would not be blackmailed.” In March 2015, then-Minister for National Development Teh Cheang Wan announced that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) would give priority to PAP constituencies in providing maintenance for lifts, water pipes, drains, roots, etc. Constitution, Art. The body responsible for this is the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) which is not a standing Committee but is appointed by the Prime Minister pursuant to his power under section 8 of the Act. Put another way, the electorate is forced speak unequivocally for or against the government, and this lack of nuances has led the PAP government to ‘perfect’ Parliament through its various legislative schemes. [SINGAPORE] The People's Action Party (PAP) powered to a stunning win in the 2015 general election, lifting its overall vote share by 9.72 percentage points to 69.86 per cent - and reversing a two-election slide in their popular vote. At each counting station, the counting agents ensure that the ballots are counted correctly. All ballot papers and their counterfoils have to be sealed in the Supreme Court vault for 6 months, after which they will be destroyed. Nonetheless a vacancy can also occur if a Member dies, ceases to be a citizen of Singapore, ceases to be a member or is expelled from his political party, resigns his seat or absents himself for ‘two consecutive months in each of which sittings of Parliament … are held’ without permission from the Speaker, or is expelled from Parliament. In the event … However, in determining the size of the various constituencies, the EBRC decided to adopt a variation of ±30%. The ballot papers are then sorted and counted. It worked well for over two decades, but by the 2011 general election, had begun to backfire on the PAP. Under Article 64(1) of the Constitution, there must be a session of Parliament ‘once at least in every year’ and Parliament must sit for a new session within six months of the last sitting of the previous session. The People's Action Party (PAP) of Singapore is one of the world's longest ruling dominant parties, having won every general election since the country's independence in 1965. 19(4), read with Art. Boundaries of electoral divisions change from time to time because of shifting populations and expansion of wards, but sufficient lead time should be afforded candidates seeking to contest elections, first to determine which wards they wish to contest in, and more importantly, how best to form their respective teams to contest the GRCs, especially since the number of candidates in each GRC can vary between 4 and 6. by Sudhir Vadaketh. The table below shows the time lag between the announcement of revised electoral boundaries and the issuing of the Writ of Election, for each general election. Up to 2009, electioneering can carry on right up to the eve of Polling Day. TLDR: Singapore's electoral system is very unrepresentative, and unless we have more opposition representation, it will never change. The … Author: K Kesavapany, ISEAS. (b) particulars of the electors: (i) serial no; (ii) name; (iii) address; and (iv) sex. He or she must not be less than 45 years of age. “Singapore’s system of elite governance needs to adapt to a more plural and diverse society, and accommodate the desire for voice and democratic accountability,” said Low. To prevent ‘money-politics’ and expensive election campaigns, the Parliamentary Elections Act specifies that the maximum amount any candidate or his election agent can pay or incur is: (a) in the case of a GRC, an amount equal to $3.00 for each elector divided by the number of candidates in the group; or (b) in the case of an SMC, an amount equal to $3.00 for each elector. [4], Since the implementation of the Group Representation Constituencies, critics have accused the ruling party of gerrymandering. A general election must be held within three months of Parliament’s dissolution (Article 66). This situation changed dramatically at the 2011 general elections, when the opposition Workers’ Party defeated the PAP’s team in the Aljunied GRC. Voting was mandatoryfor all Singaporeans who were aged 21 or above a… Constitution, Art. Secondly, they must decide, at each succeeding general election, whether to vote for politicians who are most able to satisfy their localised needs, or for politicians who are capable of forming a cabinet to govern the country; As was seen in the Aljunied GRC case, having cabinet ministers as town councillors was considered a handicap since these ministers seldom have time to meet the constituents in their weekly Meet-the-People sessions. Halimah was also the only ethnic minority member of the GRC team. It is the Prime Minister who is the ultimate authority on determining how electoral boundaries will be drawn and how many electors there are in each constituency. If they are, the continued participation of the opposition parties is a puzzle. After the registers have been prepared, they have to be exhibited for people to submit claims or raise objections. The report makes no attempt to explain why certain single seats are retained while others are dissolved, nor why new GRCs are created or old ones re-shaped.”[10] Cheng San GRC and Eunos GRC were examples of constituencies dissolved by the Elections Department after opposition parties gained ground in elections, with voters redistributed to other constituencies.[8]. From 1984, opposition politicians began being elected in parliament. There is nothing to prevent him from gerrymandering the boundaries to advantage his party. One of the biggest constitutional debates in recent years has been whether the vacation of a seat in Parliament automatically triggers a by-election. From Singapore's independence in 1965 to 1981, the People's Action Party won every single seat in every election held, forming a parliament with no elected opposition MP for almost two decades. : The following Explainer was written before the eruption of the covid-19 pandemic. This highly textual reasoning misses the woods for the trees. The Act seeks to prevent foreigners from interfering in Singapore’s domestic politics by funding candidates and political associations or parties. If it were otherwise, then an unscrupulous but popular political party could cobble together enough teams to contest all the GRCs, and then have all but one MP resign from each of these GRCs. In Singapore, where the national election was held on 10 July 2020, the voters were required to wear face masks. One major problem with this electoral system is that it works optimally only when there are two candidates in any given election. Any citizen of Singapore, who is above the age of 21 and who is ordinarily resident in Singapore is entitled to have his name entered or retained in a Register of Electors. In Singapore, opposition politicians and trade unionists were detained in prison without trial before in the 1960s and early 1970s. This means that the [Prime] Minister need only specify the names and boundaries of the electoral divisions by notification in the Gazette to increase the number of constituencies without tabling a specific amendment via the Parliamentary Elections Act. Constitution, Art. During this time, the parties also organise their rallies, including hiring the locations, the stages, the amplification equipment, and so on. Between elections, the ELD maintains the electoral roll and trains election officials. Kokila Annamalai, Ngiam Shih Tung, and Gan Theng Wei sit down with PJ Thum to talk about all the issues surrounding Singapore's elections, and in particular the ways in which it is not free and unfair. For the poll overseas, every political party with candidate(s) standing for election and every independent candidate may appoint one polling agent to be present at each overseas polling station regardless of the number of polling places in the overseas polling station. The scheme failed for two reasons. Wong argued that as Article 49(1) referred to ‘seat of a Member’ becoming vacant, it meant that even if a single GRC member resigned, a by-election was mandated. We lost two seats, so just one non-constituency candidate. Thus, the Constitution had to be amended every time Parliament decided to increase the number of constituencies. The GRC scheme was an attempt to entrench multi-racialism in Singapore’s Parliament without making the ethnic minorities feel that they owed their places in the House to the colour of their skins. by Assoc. General elections were held in Singapore on Friday, 10 July 2020 to elect 93 members to the Parliament of Singapore across 31 constituencies. They must also obtain a Political Donation Certificate from the Registrar of Political Donations. Singapore does not have an independent Election Department….This power to determine electoral boundaries gives the incumbent Prime Minister almost unbridled power to shift these boundaries for his party’s best advantage. At the time, it was a department under the Colonial Secretary’s Office. The PAP, which has handily won every election … Our Parliament is single house and comprises three types of MPs. Singapore’s electoral system Number of days from electoral boundaries report to Polling Day TIMELINE President Tony Tan Keng Yam, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, dissolved Singapore’s 12th Parliament on Tuesday, Aug 25. Under Article 65(4) of the Constitution, Parliament ‘unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for 5 years from the date of its first sitting and shall then stand dissolved.’ This means that a general election must be held at least once in 5 years. In a fair electoral system, this selective use of national funds for party-political purposes may be defensible as an inverse form of pork-barrel politics; combined with the unfairness of the electoral system, however, it is morally dubious. This means that the Minister need only specify the names and boundaries of the electoral divisions by notification in the Gazette to increase the number of constituencies without tabling a specific amendment via the Parliamentary Elections Act. As then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew explained in the aftermath of the 1984 general election: The results of the election show a highly sophisticated electorate. The President does this “on the advice” of the Prime Minister, which in practical terms means the PM determines when an election will be called. The first category consists of members who are elected directly by their constituencies; and this category can be divided into those who are elected from the Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and those elected in the Single-Member Constituencies (SMCs). the spouse or a parent, child or dependent of any person referred to above. The ELD is, however, not responsible for determining electoral boundaries or constituency allocations. Netina Tan (Reference Tan 2013) notes that Singapore's mixed single-member district-plurality and multi-member district-party block vote plurality system—similar to other electoral systems that use majoritarian formulae—exhibits ‘mechanical’ effects that … The role of polling agents is to make sure that the elections are held in accordance with the rules. In the absence of any law requiring some parity in the sizes of the various constituencies, there is nothing to prevent the system from being abused through malapportionment. 19(2)(d) read with Art. 44(2)(c). In 1984, an amendment was made to Article 39 of the Constitution to simply state that Parliament ‘shall consist of such number of elected Members as is required at a general election by the constituencies prescribed by or under any law made by the Legislature.’ With this amendment, Parliament delegated the power and responsibility of determining how Singapore’s electoral boundaries would be drawn to the Minister in charge of the Parliamentary Elections Act: the Prime Minister. There are currently two types of elections in Singapore: parliamentary and presidential elections. The problems are thus obvious. A person may also be prevented from voting if he has been convicted of ‘a corrupt or illegal practice’ under the Act or if his name has been expunged from the register under Section 6(g) of the Parliamentary Elections Act. 19(2)(c) read with Art. In the 2001 general election, much controversy was stirred when the Government announced that it was scrapping its plan to allow overseas voting for security reasons in the wake of the World Trade Centre bombings of September 11th. Under Article 39(1)(a) of the Singapore Constitution, the number of elected Members of Parliament must be equal to the number of constituencies. Guide to the General Election in Singapore. Regular MPs can also get into Parliament through a by-election, when a particular seat or seats in a GRC become vacant. The e-registration is just like the machines at Mc Donald's, KFC, and NTUC. Constitution, Art. It would otherwise be impossible to have a democratically-elected legislature. In its post-independence constitutional development, the dominant People's Action Party political leadership had made a series of constitutional amendments to its original electoral system, introducing innovative schemes such as … Other disqualifications include being convicted of an offence entailing a term of imprisonment of one year or more or a fine exceeding $2,000 or conviction of an offence under any law relating to elections to Parliament. The NMP scheme sought to break this trend and improve the quality of parliamentary debate by bringing alternative voices to Parliament – without creating an upper house – to argue and reason on a non-partisan basis. One upshot of this decision prompted a wide-ranging debate at home in Singapore as to whether voting was a right or privilege. Every voter will receive a poll card informing him of polling day and where he may cast his vote in person. The whole point of the GRC system was to ensure ethnic minority representation by requiring candidates to team up with an ethnic minority candidate and contest the election together and then to run the constituency together. Tap to unmute. There are currently two types of elections in Singapore: parliamentary and presidential elections. The main statute dealing with the electoral process is the Parliamentary Elections Act. However, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stated that there was no time period in which he was required to call an election and even intimated that he had ultimate discretion in deciding if a by-election need be called. General Elections in Singapore need to take place no more than five years after the previous General Election. Frequently Asked Questions The results will be officially published in the Government Gazette. Good ideas should thus be supported because they were good, and not because they emanated from a particular party. Initially, the NMP scheme was meant to be a temporary measure, especially since many PAP members objected to the scheme. The puzzle for the PAP government has been this: How to remain in power and yet accommodate alternative and dissident views which the voters wanted? [7][8] Critics have accused it of giving the ruling party the power to decide polling districts and polling sites through electoral engineering, based on poll results in previous elections. In any event, even if at a particular point in time he feels that it would not be appropriate to call for an election to fill a vacancy, he must still review the circumstances from time to time and call for election to fill the vacancy if and when the circumstances have changed. Theoretically, five members of a six-member GRC can resign their seats and leave the remaining member as the sole representative for his constituency. SINGAPORE -- The ruling People's Action Party will form Singapore's next government with a supermajority, but the opposition made unprecedented gains in the city-state's general election… To qualify, a person must be: (a) a Singapore citizen; (b) over the age of 21; (c) resident in Singapore at the date of nomination; (d) able to take an active part in the proceedings in Parliament; and (e) unless blind, be able to read and write one of the official languages of Singapore. For more, please visit our Singapore General Election 2020 portal. Singapore citizens who are not resident in Singapore but who have lived in Singapore for an aggregate of 2 years over the last 5 years immediately preceding an election; Members of the Singapore Armed Forces on full-time training or service outside Singapore; Public officers or an employees of any public authority employed in full-time service outside Singapore; Singapore citizens over the age of 21 on full-time training outside Singapore that is sponsored by the Government or any public authority; Singapore citizens employed outside Singapore by an international organisation of which Singapore is a member or by any other body or organisation designated by the President under Article 135 (1)(c) (ii) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore; or. [5] The electoral system reduces the chances of opposition representation in parliament with a "winner takes all" system. When the Committee’s report was released on 6 November 1991, he was shocked to find his intended ward merged with Marine Parade GRC which was helmed by the incumbent Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Some commentators argued that voting was a right and that the failure by the Government to provide facilities for overseas voting was a clear breach of this right. A referendum may also be held for important national issues, although it has been held only once in Singapore's political history for the 1962 merger referendum. Calls for a national referendum has been made since then, including the issue over the building of casinos in Singapore. This power to determine electoral boundaries gives the incumbent Prime Minister almost unbridled power to shift these boundaries for his party’s best advantage. 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