Singapore General Elections : 12 Things you need to know
This is going to be Singapore's 13 GE since independence. If you had not experienced a General Election or am hazy about what is
happening, here are 10 things you need to know.
1 Polling day is a Holiday, leave kids at home please
Polling day is the date where you get to vote. It is on July 10, so you are going to have a public holiday on that date. Do note that that you will have a 2-hour time slot allocated to you. You cannot bring your kids to vote.
2 Who can Vote?
You must meet the following qualifying criteria as of the cut off date for
Registers of Electors
- is a citizen of Singapore ( holder of Pink NRIC)
- is not less than 21 years of age
- is not disqualified from being an elector under any prevailing law and
(ii) if he is residing overseas, and has changed his NRIC address to an
overseas address, has a contact address in Singapore registered with the
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority ( also known as a Local Contact
Address)
4 How to check is you can vote?
- Online via the Elections Department Services
- At community centres/clubs ( with NRIC/passport)
- At Singapore overseas missions that serve as overseas polling stations (with NRIC.passport)
- At Elections Department Office
You can also check your status via SingPass under profile
5 Is voting compulsory?
Voting is mandatory for all Singaporeans age 21 and above. You would probably
not go jail if you do not vote, but you will need to restore your name to the
voting list before the Writ of Elections is issued for future elections.
However, only certain reason may be accepted, examples are
Working overseas or studying overseas at time of poll, illness or delivering a
baby,
If your reason is deemed invalid, you have to pay $50 in order to get your name restored. It is best to go vote since it is your privilege as a citizen.
6 How many people can you vote for?
Source: Wikipedia |
It depends on where you stay. There are 17 Group Representation
Constituencies (GRC) and 14 Single Member Constituencies (SMC). If you stay in an area with GRC, your one vote will vote the whole group in if they are successful. GRC can form 4 or 5 members depending on location. For SMC, you only vote for the person representing the place you stay.
You can check where you are voting from this
election map.
Your NRIC address will determine where you vote.
For the number of members in GRC and the number of Electors,
you can refer to this map.
7 How many people can be voted
This year, the number of MP goes up from 89 to 93.
8 I am excited, how to know who I can vote for?
The parties running in the individual GRC and SMC will only be confirmed after the nomination date. Nomination date is set at 30 June 2020
9 Can I attend a rally?
This year, due to Covid19, there will not be any rallies. Instead, you can see your candidates on TV instead. Candidates are also not allowed to make
speeches from campaigning vehicles, so the best bet is to head to their
Facebook page for updates and speeches
10 Who will win the individual races?
Singapore uses first past the post system of election. The one or group that
has the highest number of votes win.
11 Who will govern Singapore?
The party that has the majority in Parliament would be the one to call the
shots after elections.
12 Can I choose the Prime Minister?
Unlike the Presidential Election, you cannot choose the Prime Minister. The
Prime Minister and members of the cabinet are elected by the parliament. The
Prime Minister is appointed by the President, then the Cabinet members, also
known as ministers, are appointed by the president on the advice of the
prime minister.
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