Last Saturday (14 March), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took to his Facebook page, raising the concern of whether to hope for the Covid-19 crisis to stabilise and hold the General Election (GE) by 21 April 2021, or call the elections early.
In his Facebook post, PM Lee, who seems undecided on the GE’s date, wrote that the date will depend on “the situation, and the outlook”.
“Singapore faces grave and extended challenges. We can’t tell when the pandemic will end, but it will likely last at least this year, and quite possibly longer. The economic hit will likely be more serious than the Global Financial Crisis, and longer-lasting too, even beyond the end of the pandemic,” he wrote.
Noting that the situation will worsen before getting better, PM Lee stated in his post,
“We have two choices. Either hope and pray that things will stabilise before the end of the term so that we can hold elections under more normal circumstances – but we have no certainty of that.
Or else call elections early, knowing that we are going into a hurricane, to elect a new government with a fresh mandate and a full term ahead of it, which can work with Singaporeans on the critical tasks at hand.”
PM Lee affirmed that the necessary precautions will be in place to make sure the “parties can campaign effectively and people can vote safely” if the GE were to take place in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the meantime, the sudden announcement of the boundaries revision by the Election Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has incited the opposition parties to call out the government for its irresponsible decision to hold the GE during the Covid-19 outbreak as it is important to focus on fighting the Covid-19 outbreak and protecting public health at this current period.
Netizens disagree to holding GE as the priority should be to combat Covid-19
Commenting under PM Lee’s Facebook post, many netizens disagreed with the idea of holding the GE amid the Covid-19 outbreak, noting that the government should save the national reserves and resources to combat the Covid-19 instead of channelling funds and energy towards elections. Compare with holding a GE, the priority should be focusing on tackling the spread of Covid-19.
One netizen mocked that the government is not capable of dealing with the crisis which is why it is so urgent for the ruling government to hold the GE in the middle of a ‘hurricane’ due to Covid-19. The netizen wrote, “What’s the urgency, unless you think the current team which 70% of the electorate chose, is inadequate to deal with the crisis?”
A few netizens also reminded the government that it should prioritise public health and the safety of people, and not the upcoming elections. All parties should work together and be united to overcome the coronavirus crisis, they said.
The other citizens also called on the government to put aside politics and to fight against the Covid-19 outbreak together as the competence of government will be seen through the process of dealing with the country’s current crisis.
One netizen cited her own experience when having a door-to-door visit from a Member of Parliament (MP), but she did not dare to open the door as she cared about her family health due to the fear of being infected with the coronavirus. She requested the government to take into consideration the unforeseen threat of coronavirus before changing the date of the GE.
Some citizens condemned that it would be irresponsible and immoral to put the nation’s safety at risk if the government decides to hold the GE during this period, adding that the GE will create higher human flow which could cause a higher transmission rate of Covid-19 among the public.
One netizen also doubted what PM Lee affirmed in his post, asking how the government plans on implementing precautionary measures to ensure a safe environment during the election period.
However, there are still some netizens who expressed their support for holding the GE as soon as possible, which they say could help the people and country to have more certainty in coping with the coronavirus outbreak.