Following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report on the revised electoral map on 13 March, speculation on the ground is that the next general election (GE) will be called very soon. At the latest, it has to be held by 15 April 2021.
Historically, the GE is usually held about two months after the EBRC report is released. That’s what happened in the last three elections in 2015, 2011, and 2006. In 2001, the report was released on 17 October 2001 and elections were held less than a month later on 2 November 2001.
This time around, it appears that activists from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) said to The New Paper yesterday (17 March) that the next GE could be held as early as May. An anonymous senior party activist speaking to The Straits Times said that the stabilisation of coronavirus cases would impact the timing of the polls, adding that he doesn’t think the elections will happen next month.
“We have to wait for the 30-day window that Minister Lawrence Wong mentioned – it has to be safe enough for people to vote,” said the activist.
The 30-day period is in reference to National Development Minister Lawrence Wong’s announcement on Sunday (15 March) in which he issued a travel advisory for Singaporeans to defer all non-essential travel abroad in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
Another indication that the GE might be held in May is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Facebook post on Saturday (14 March) in which he said that the GE can only be called after the electoral registers have been updated, which can take up to a month. Only after that can parliament be dissolved followed by the issuance of the writ of election.
Voters, check your status online
So going by past timelines, now is the perfect time for eligible voters to check their names and particulars in the Register of Electors. You can do so online at the Elections Department (ED) website.
If you are a non-voter – one whose name was struck off the Register of Electors for failing to vote in a previous election – you can apply to restore your name in the register by submitting an application to the ED via it’s website.
If you happen to be abroad and need to register as an overseas elector, you can apply online to enable you to cast your vote at any of the overseas polling stations at Singapore missions in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Canberra, and Dubai. However, you have to be registered as an elector already before submitting an application to be an overseas elector. According to the ED website, this process will only take you about 5 minutes.
If you are already an overseas elector, you can also choose to change your overseas polling station or update your details online.
On the flip side, you can also apply to cancel your registration as an overseas elector if you no longer need to cast your vote at an overseas polling stations. Again, you can do this on the ED website.
You can also check on the status of any of the above applications online.
If you want to ensure that you’re able to vote in the next election, whenever that might be, you should make sure to check your status before the election is called, as applications for restoration to the register of electors will not be processed once the writ of election is issued until Polling Day. On the other hand, applications for overseas electors will not be processed from the third day after the writ is issued until Polling day.
According to the ED’s voter rolls last year, which were open for public inspection in April, there were over 2.59 million people registered to vote in Singapore, about 80,000 more than the previous year.
