[SINGAPORE] Singapore is set to go to the polls on May 3 in a closely watched general election that marks Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first electoral outing since taking the helm last year.
If more than one candidate or group of candidates is nominated, the Returning Officer will declare May 3 to be Polling Day, said the Elections Department in a statement. Polling Day, which falls on a Saturday, will be declared a public holiday.
Nomination Day is set for Apr 23, marking the start of a nine-day campaigning period before Cooling-off Day on May 2.
Interested candidates must file their papers at one of the nine nomination centres on Apr 23, from 11am to noon.
The Writ of Election was issued by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at 4pm on Tuesday (Apr 15), after he dissolved Parliament in an earlier notice in a Government Gazette at 3pm.
The date of Nomination Day was suggested by PM Wong, to which President Tharman agreed, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
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The People’s Action Party (PAP) has been officially introducing its candidates for various constituencies since last Saturday, starting with PM Wong’s team for Marsiling-Yew Tee group representation constituency (GRC).
At the event, he told reporters that the PAP will field more than 30 new candidates, the largest slate of new faces in recent history. The lineup will include the core of the next generation leadership.
A bigger election
There are 2,758,095 registered electors, according to an update from the Elections Department on Mar 24. This is a nearly 4 per cent increase from 2020.
They will vote in 33 electoral divisions: 18 GRCs and 15 single member constituencies, with one more of each than in 2020.
Singapore’s electoral boundaries saw widespread changes in the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s (EBRC) recommendations released on Mar 11. The number of elected seats was increased to 97, from 93.
Both the ruling and opposition parties have been ramping up their activities since the release of the EBRC report, and all seats are likely to be contested, with some possibly seeing multi-cornered fights.
The election deposit has been set S$13,500, unchanged from 2020.
Forms of nomination papers may be obtained from the office of the Returning Officer from 8.30am to 6pm on weekdays and 8.30am to 1pm on Saturdays.
Each nomination paper must be signed by at least 6 electors qualified to vote in the electoral division where the candidate is seeking election.
Watchers previously told The Business Times they expect the cost of living to top voters’ list of concerns going into the polls.
In Budget 2025, PM Wong, in his capacity as finance minister, announced a bumper crop of vouchers and rebates – including a one-off SG60 package – while stepping up investments in training and to spur innovation.
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