The long-awaited General Election has officially been called following the dissolution of the Parliament by President Halimah Yacob earlier today (23 June) at the request of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
During a national broadcast earlier, PM Lee said that he visited Madam Halimah this morning to advise her to dissolve the Parliament and issue a Writ of Election.
After the live address, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) released a statement saying that President Halimah has dissolved the Parliament on the advice of PM Lee.
The statement also stated that the Nomination Day will be on 30 June 2020, Tuesday – which the President has agreed.
The Polling Day will be announced by the Returning Officer.
The dissolution of Parliament comes three months after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) released its report on the modified electoral map on 13 March 2020.
This will be the 14th General Election in Singapore.
A total of 14 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 17 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) will be contested in the upcoming General Election, with a total of 93 Parliamentary seats up for grabs.
12 political parties are looking at contesting in the election.
An estimated 2.65 million eligible voters – up from 2.46 million in 2015- will head to the polls.
Meanwhile, earlier this morning, PM Lee updated the cover photo of his Facebook page with a picture of a sunrise taken at Changi Beach Park – picture credit goes to one Terence Tan.
He also included an ironic caption that might just foreshadows the General Election looming.
“With the gradual easing of measures, let us all continue to do our part to practice social responsibility and safe distancing as we go out and about with our daily lives. Together, we can create a COVID-safe environment for everyone. – LHL”