Parliamentary elections in Singapore

The Parliamentary elections in Singapore began with the independence of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia on 9 August 1965, thus renaming the Singapore State Government's Legislative Assembly as the Parliament of Singapore. Henceforth, elections held to form the parliament are known as the Parliamentary elections.

Background

Legislation

The 3 main pieces of legislation governing the conduct of Parliamentary Elections are: (a) The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (The Legislature - Part VI); (b) The Parliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 218); and (c) The Political Donations Regulations (Chapter 236, Rg 2).

The Parliamentary Elections Act contains provisions leading to and for the conduct of the elections. Its main features are:
*(a) Production of the registers of electors; and
*(b) Conduct of elections.

The Parliament

The Parliament of Singapore is unicameral and has 99 Members of Parliament (MPs) There are three types of MP:
*(a) Elected MPs;
*(b) Non-Constituency MPs; and
*(c) Nominated MPs. There are 84 elected MPs are chosen by universal suffrage by means of the 'first-past-the-post' system. Elected MPs may be returned either from one of nine single member constituencies (SMCs) or one of fourteen group representation constituency (GRCs). Each SMC returns one MP while each GRC returns between three and six MPs, one of whom must be from the Malay, Indian, or Other Minority Communities, so as to ensure that minority groups are adequately represented in Parliament.

Non-constituency MPs (NCMPs) are chosen from candidates of a political party or parties not forming the Government. There can be up to three NCMPs as provided for in the Parliamentary Elections Act, which again can be increased to a maximum of six as provided for in the Constitution.

Nominated MPs (NMPs) are Singapore Citizens qualified to be candidates, who are nominated by Parliament to be appointed as Nominated MPs by the President. They do not stand for election. There are presently nine NMPs, the maximum as provided for in the Constitution.

The NCMPs and NMPs may not vote on Bills pertaining to financial and constitutional matters.

The Registers of Electors

Any person who is: (a) a citizen of Singapore; (b) ordinarily resident in Singapore; and (c) not less than 21 years of age, unless he is disqualified shall be entitled to have his name entered or retained in a register of electors in that year. The register of electors is compiled from records kept by the National Registration Office. The register of electors contains, amongst other things, the following: (a) name of the constituency and its sub-division known as polling districts; and (b) particulars of the electors:(i) serial no; (ii) name; (iii) address; and (iv) sex.

A register is prepared for each constituency. As there are currently 23 constituencies, 23 registers are prepared. After the registers have been prepared, they will have to be exhibited for people to submit claims or raise objections. After this is done, the registers will be certified and will be used for the election until a new one is prepared.

Election process

Conduct of Election

As required by law, the President of the Republic of Singapore has to: dissolve Parliament, then issue a writ of election to the Returning Officer.

Writ of Election

The writ will specify:
* when the nomination of candidates is to be taken (not earlier than 5 days nor later than one month from date of the writ); and
* the place of nomination.

Notice of Election

After the President has issued the writ, the Returning Officer will issue a notice stipulating:
* the date, time and place for nomination of candidates;
* the nomination paper to be signed by any 6 or more electors; and
* the payment of deposit (a sum equal to 8% of the total allowances payable to MPs in the preceding year, rounded to the nearest $500).

Nomination Day

Candidates have to present their nomination papers, statutory declarations and certificate personally at the nomination centre. At the close of the nomination period, where there is only one candidate (SMC), or one group of candidates (GRC) stands nominated, the (Assistant) Returning Officer will declare at the nomination centre that the candidate or the group of candidates have been returned as MP(s). Where there are more than 1 candidate (SMC) or more than 1 group of candidates (GRC) stand nominated, the Returning Officer will adjourn to a date when a poll will be taken, ie. Polling Day.

Notice of Contested Election

The Returning Officer will then issue the notice of contested elections giving:
*(a) the date of the poll (not less than 9 days nor more than 8 weeks after publication of notice);
*(b) the names of candidates, their symbols, proposers and seconders; and
*(c) the names and locations of all polling stations.

Campaigning

Candidates can only mount their election campaigns after the close of nomination up to the eve of Polling Day. They can conduct house-to-house visits, distribute pamphlets, put up posters and banners and hold election rallies. Political parties will be given air-time by the Media Corporation of Singapore (Mediacorp). The length of air-time depends on the number of candidates each party is fielding.

The maximum amount which a candidate or his election agent can pay or incur is:
* 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
* in the case of an SMC, an amount equal to $3.00 for each elector.

Polling Day

Every voter will receive a poll card informing him of polling day and where he can cast his vote in person. Voting is secret and compulsory.

Polling takes place from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm. At the end of the day, the ballot boxes are sealed and witnessed by the candidates or their agents. The ballot boxes are then delivered to their respective counting centres. They will be opened in front of the candidates and/or their counting agents. The ballot papers are then sorted and counted. After the count, the Assistant Returning Officer will inform the Group Assistant Returning Officer of the results of counting at the principal counting place. The Assistant Returning Officer at the principal counting place will collate the results at electoral division level and notify the representatives of the candidates (principal election agents, election agents or the candidates) before transmitting the results to the Returning Officer who will make his announcement at the Announcement Centre for the mass-media to disseminate it to the members of the public. The results will be officially published in the government gazette.

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