Singapore Introduces Election Safety Rules Amid Pandemic

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Singapore’s government has introduced a bill in Parliament that calls for new measures to ensure the safety of voters and candidates during an election that may have to be held amid the coronavirus pandemic.

With the next general election required to held by April 14, 2021, the bill introduced on Tuesday suggests implementing temporary arrangements including allowing voters under Covid-19 stay orders to cast their ballot outside their electoral divisions. It also gives aspiring candidates the power to authorize a representative to file nomination papers on their behalf.

The Elections Department “is reviewing our election processes, and putting in place the necessary precautionary measures, in compliance with prevailing advisories from the Ministry of Health,” according to a statement from the agency. “This is so that should the general election take place amidst the Covid-19 situation, the safety and health of voters, candidates and election officials will be safeguarded.”

Allowing electors to vote in designated facilities such as where they are living ensures people on stay orders will not “mingle” with others, the department said. Tapping representatives to file nomination papers would serve candidates unable or unfit to do so because of a quarantine or stay order, hospitalization or ill health. Currently, the Parliamentary Elections Act requires aspiring candidates to file nomination papers in person.

Economic Impact

As of Monday, Singapore reported a total of 1,375 cases since the outbreak began. Most workplaces, except for essential services and key economic sectors, will close starting on Tuesday, while the city-state will move to full home-based learning in its schools starting Wednesday.

The coronavirus outbreak has also had a profound impact on the economy with the government predicting a 1%-4% contraction this year. On Monday, the government announced a S$5.1 billion ($3.6 billion) stimulus package, the city-state’s third in just two months, bringing the nation’s total virus relief to almost S$60 billion. They include cash payouts to individuals as well as additional steps to save jobs.

While it is unclear when the election will be held, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told reporters last month he would need to weigh “conducting an election under abnormal circumstances, against going into a storm with a mandate which is reaching the end of its term.”

The prospect of an election during the pandemic has drawn criticism from the social-liberal Singapore Democratic Party, which said a poll would “take away valuable resources needed to combat the virus outbreak and jeopardize the public’s health and well-being.”

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