- Joined
- Jul 28, 2008
- Messages
- 434
- Points
- 18
WP, SPP, NSP all got mentioned but nothing on SDP and RP. ST no give face to Dr Chee and JBJ?
Early polls? Possible, though not imminent
PAP wants to be ready to call elections quickly if financial crisis drags out, observers say
By Aaron Low
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=10> </TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
The Elections Department told The Straits Times yesterday that it had begun sending letters to public servants selected to be election officers and informing them of the training they will receive. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSO CHAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
POLITICAL observers said yesterday the Elections Department's preparations for elections are a sign that polls could be held earlier, though they are not necessarily imminent.
It also indicates that the Government wants to have the capability to call an election anytime it decides to.
The Elections Department told The Straits Times yesterday that it had begun sending letters to public servants selected to be election officers and informing them of the training they will receive.
Schools have also been designated as polling centres, it said.
The last general election was in May 2006 and the next must be held by Feb 2, 2012. The shortest period between elections was three years - the 1991 polls followed on the previous election in 1988.
A big reason to call an earlier election now is the economic crisis, political observers agreed.
Uncertainty over how long the recession will last, and how bad it will get before things improve, would be factors in favour of the People's Action Party (PAP) Government going to the polls sooner.
'Elections are huge logistical events and they can't just snap their fingers for it. These plans need to be in place,' said Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy political scientist Kenneth Paul Tan.
It made 'tactical sense' to hold the general election earlier rather than later, given the uncertain economic climate, he added.
Dr Gillian Koh of the Institute of Policy Studies noted that the PAP Government might want a fresh mandate if it thought the crisis would drag out more than two years and a large stimulus package was needed.
Singapore voters tend to go with the stable hand in difficult times, she added.
The PAP gained from this 'flight to safety' when it called a snap election in November 2001, just two months after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
It won 75.3 per cent of the vote, up 10.3 percentage points from 65 per cent in 1997.
Explaining why he called an early election, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said he wanted to get the polls over with in order to concentrate on the big issues of jobs and security in the post-Sept 11 environment.
Political observer Viswa Sadasivan, however, felt that an early election now might backfire if the PAP is seen to be capitalising on current sentiments.
'An election is a distraction for a Government which should be focused on looking after the people and their worries over jobs,' he said.
Nanyang Technological University political scientist Ho Khai Leong thought that the results of recent elections in Malaysia and America - where incumbent parties fared badly - might also give the PAP reason to pause.
'Might this idea of 'change' resonate with local voters too?' he wondered.
Associate Professor Bilveer Singh of the National University of Singapore believed the PAP would not push the button until it felt the ground was 'sweet'.
'The key to the next GE will be when the economy here improves. It is the bread-and-butter issues - all else is irrelevant,' he said, adding that he thought the crisis would not last past 2010.
The opposition Singapore People's Party (SPP) and National Solidarity Party (NSP) said they would be ready whenever the election was called.
NSP chief Sebastian Teo said his party could get 10 candidates easily if polls were called tomorrow.
The Workers' Party (WP), which has two representatives in Parliament, declined to discuss its plans. 'We will meet the challenge when the time comes,' said party chairman and non-constituency MP Sylvia Lim.
To PAP MP Charles Chong, what mattered most was being prepared.
'It is good practice to make sure our troops on the ground are put through their paces and ready to be mobilised at any moment,' he said.
The PAP's special organising secretary, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen, told The Straits Times in April that the party had already identified 100 possible candidates, including a few with the potential to be ministers.
[email protected]
Early polls? Possible, though not imminent
PAP wants to be ready to call elections quickly if financial crisis drags out, observers say
By Aaron Low
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=10> </TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
The Elections Department told The Straits Times yesterday that it had begun sending letters to public servants selected to be election officers and informing them of the training they will receive. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSO CHAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
POLITICAL observers said yesterday the Elections Department's preparations for elections are a sign that polls could be held earlier, though they are not necessarily imminent.
It also indicates that the Government wants to have the capability to call an election anytime it decides to.
The Elections Department told The Straits Times yesterday that it had begun sending letters to public servants selected to be election officers and informing them of the training they will receive.
Schools have also been designated as polling centres, it said.
The last general election was in May 2006 and the next must be held by Feb 2, 2012. The shortest period between elections was three years - the 1991 polls followed on the previous election in 1988.
A big reason to call an earlier election now is the economic crisis, political observers agreed.
Uncertainty over how long the recession will last, and how bad it will get before things improve, would be factors in favour of the People's Action Party (PAP) Government going to the polls sooner.
'Elections are huge logistical events and they can't just snap their fingers for it. These plans need to be in place,' said Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy political scientist Kenneth Paul Tan.
It made 'tactical sense' to hold the general election earlier rather than later, given the uncertain economic climate, he added.
Dr Gillian Koh of the Institute of Policy Studies noted that the PAP Government might want a fresh mandate if it thought the crisis would drag out more than two years and a large stimulus package was needed.
Singapore voters tend to go with the stable hand in difficult times, she added.
The PAP gained from this 'flight to safety' when it called a snap election in November 2001, just two months after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
It won 75.3 per cent of the vote, up 10.3 percentage points from 65 per cent in 1997.
Explaining why he called an early election, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said he wanted to get the polls over with in order to concentrate on the big issues of jobs and security in the post-Sept 11 environment.
Political observer Viswa Sadasivan, however, felt that an early election now might backfire if the PAP is seen to be capitalising on current sentiments.
'An election is a distraction for a Government which should be focused on looking after the people and their worries over jobs,' he said.
Nanyang Technological University political scientist Ho Khai Leong thought that the results of recent elections in Malaysia and America - where incumbent parties fared badly - might also give the PAP reason to pause.
'Might this idea of 'change' resonate with local voters too?' he wondered.
Associate Professor Bilveer Singh of the National University of Singapore believed the PAP would not push the button until it felt the ground was 'sweet'.
'The key to the next GE will be when the economy here improves. It is the bread-and-butter issues - all else is irrelevant,' he said, adding that he thought the crisis would not last past 2010.
The opposition Singapore People's Party (SPP) and National Solidarity Party (NSP) said they would be ready whenever the election was called.
NSP chief Sebastian Teo said his party could get 10 candidates easily if polls were called tomorrow.
The Workers' Party (WP), which has two representatives in Parliament, declined to discuss its plans. 'We will meet the challenge when the time comes,' said party chairman and non-constituency MP Sylvia Lim.
To PAP MP Charles Chong, what mattered most was being prepared.
'It is good practice to make sure our troops on the ground are put through their paces and ready to be mobilised at any moment,' he said.
The PAP's special organising secretary, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen, told The Straits Times in April that the party had already identified 100 possible candidates, including a few with the potential to be ministers.
[email protected]
