General election in Singapore
General elections in Singapore must be held within three months of the expiry of five years from the first session of a particular Singapore parliament . In most cases, however, parliament is dissolved and, at the initiative of the Prime Minister, parliamentary elections are held before the five-year deadline. The number of constituencies is not permanently set by law, but is determined by the Prime Minister before each parliamentary election in accordance with the Act on Parliamentary Elections (Cap. 218, 2011 Rev. Ed.), Which regulates the conduct of parliamentary elections, taking into account the recommendations of the Review Committee for Electoral Boundaries. For the 2015 parliamentary elections, 89 seats in parliament were organized in 13 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 16 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). Each SMC sends one Member of Parliament, while each GRC sends between three and six MPs, at least one of whom must be from the Malay , Indian or other minority community. A group of people who want to stand for election in a GRC must all be members of the same political party or group of independent candidates. The voting age in Singapore is 21 years.
The electoral process begins when the president, on the advice of the cabinet , issues a ballot to the election officer . On the nomination day, the election supervisor and his representatives will be present at the designated nomination centers between 11:00 and 12:00 to receive the nomination documents of the potential candidates, as well as political donation receipts confirming that they meet the requirements of the Political Donations Act ( Chap. 236, 2001 Rev. Ed.). A person who intends to run as a minority candidate in a GRC must also provide a certificate confirming that they are a person belonging to the Malay, Indian or other minority community. In addition, between the date of the election decision and 12:00 noon on the nomination day, candidates must deposit 8% of the total compensation paid to an MP in the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest $ 500, to the election officer. For the 2015 general election, the deposit amount was $ 14,500. After the nomination deadline, if only one candidate is nominated in an SMC or a group of candidates is nominated in a standing GRC, the election is uncontested and the election officer declares that the candidate or group of candidates has been elected. If there is more than one candidate in an SMC or more than one group of candidates in a GRC, the election will be adjourned to allow a vote to take place. The election officer issues a notice of the contested elections stating when the election day will take place; and information such as the names of the candidates, their applicants and supporters, the symbols assigned to the candidates printed on ballot papers, and the locations of the polling stations.
Candidates can only campaign after the end of the electoral period up to the day before the eve of the election day. No campaigns are allowed on the eve of election day itself, which is known as “cooling-off day”. Candidates can advertise on the Internet, make house calls, hand out leaflets, hang banners and posters, and conduct campaign events. Political parties with at least six candidates are given airtime for two recorded party political programs on radio and television, one on the day after nomination day and the other on cool down day. The amount of advertising time allowed depends on the number of candidates each party uses. The maximum amount that a candidate or his electoral representative can campaign or accept is $ 3.50 for each voter in an SMC or $ 3.50 for each voter divided by the number of candidates in the group who to run for election in a GRC.
Election day in a general election is a public holiday and voting is mandatory. Unless the election officer decides otherwise, the polling stations are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Voters have to go to the polling stations assigned to them. After completing the poll, the chairman of each polling station seals the ballot boxes without opening them. Candidates or their electoral officers can also put their own seals on the ballot boxes. The ballot boxes are then taken to the counting centers where they are opened and the ballots are counted. A candidate or his or her counting officer can ask the election supervisor to recount the votes if the difference between the number of votes for the candidate or group of candidates with the most votes and the number of votes for another candidate or group of candidates is 2% or less, with the exception of the rejected and cast votes. After all counts and, if necessary, recounts have been completed, the election officer determines whether the total number of voters registered abroad is less than the difference between the number of votes of the two candidates with the highest number of votes.
The last parliamentary elections took place in 2015. The People's Action Party was brought to power to form the 83-seat government, while the Workers' Party of Singapore secured six seats by winning at Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC .
Composition and term of office of Parliament
The Parliament of Singapore is einkammrig and consists of three types of Members of Parliament: elected members of parliament (English elected Members of Parliament - MPs ), non-constituency members (English non-constituency Members of Parliament - NCMPs ) and appointed members of parliament (English Nominated Members of Parliament - NMPs ). Of these, the MPs are elected by general or popular elections using a majority voting system, while NCMPs are chosen from candidates from political parties that do not form the government.
The maximum duration of any parliament is five years from the date of its first session. In most cases, however, parliament is prematurely dissolved and a general election is called at the instigation of the Prime Minister, who has the right to inform the President through a proclamation published in the government gazette. The President is under no obligation to declare the dissolution of Parliament unless he is satisfied that the Prime Minister has the confidence of a majority of MPs. Parliamentary elections must take place within three months of the dissolution of parliament.
The number of elected MPs and constituencies is not permanently determined by law, but is declared by the Prime Minister before each parliamentary election in accordance with the Parliamentary Elections Act , which regulates the conduct of parliamentary elections, taking into account the recommendations of the election campaign committee.
Electoral system
Universal male and female suffrage was introduced in Singapore in 1959. A formal compulsory election has existed since 1963, but violations are usually not punished.
All citizens of Singapore over the age of 21 who are resident in Germany have the right to vote, unless they are insane, sentenced to death or imprisonment for more than twelve months, or for election fraud. Since 2001, citizens with permanent residence abroad can also cast their votes in some diplomatic missions abroad. Citizens over 21 years of age who are not mentally ill, insolvent or have immigrated illegally and are not under guardianship are eligible. Members of the election commission, judges and civil servants may not be MPs at the same time. Candidates must be able to read and write at least one of the four national languages Malay, Mandarin, Tamil or English. Prior to election, candidates are required to leave Singapore $ 16,000 security deposit, which will be returned to candidates who receive at least 12.5% of the vote in the relevant constituency.
The directly elected representatives are directly elected in a relative majority vote in twelve single-member constituencies and 15 multi-person constituencies with four to six seats, whereby one of the elected representatives must belong to the Malay, Indian or another minority (as of 2015). If a member of parliament is unable to fill his mandate by the end of the legislative period, a by-election is held.
The democratic principles of a general, equal, direct and secret election are only partially fulfilled. For example, some election observers see the numbering of the ballot papers as an opportunity for the government to understand individual voting behavior. Equal opportunities for candidates with regard to candidacy and election campaigns are also not given. The discrepancy between the opposition's share of the vote and the seats allocated to it is due to the strong disproportionate effect of the electoral system, the rules of the election campaign and the layout of the constituencies ( gerrymandering ). The People's Action Party (PAP) received around 70% of the votes in 2015, but with 83 it received around 93% of the 89 regular seats in parliament. Ultimately, it can be stated that the parliamentary elections definitely benefit the ruling PAP party:
“Elections serve to secure the rule of the PAP in three ways. First, the social acceptance of your government is also based on confirmation by the voters (legitimation function). Second, by cutting off the opposition, the government gets a feel for the voters' support for their politics (information function). Thirdly, the opposition can be integrated into the regime structures through the appointment of MPs without constituencies (NCMPs) (cooptation function). "
Voters
To be eligible to vote in a general election in a given year, a person's name must be on a certified electoral roll for that year. A voter roll is created for each electoral branch in Singapore. A person has the right to have his or her name entered on an electoral roll for a given year if he or she is a citizen of Singapore on January 1 of that year, is ordinarily resident in Singapore, is not under the age of 21 and is not subject to disqualification. A person who is not a Singapore resident but is entitled to have his or her name entered on an electoral roll for a particular electoral division may apply to be registered as a foreign elector at any time prior to the issuance of a ballot for an election in that division.
The Prime Minister may from time to time, but no later than three years after the last parliamentary elections, order the electoral roll to be revised; and request that the registers be updated with reference to a specific year before a general election. Once the registers have been created or updated, they are made available to the public for inspection so that individuals can make claims to be included in the registers or to object to the inclusion of other persons in the registers. After dealing with all claims and objections, the registers are certified as correct.
Previous parliamentary elections
The following graphs show the parliamentary elections from 1980 to 2020:
| 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|
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A total of 75 seats
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| 1997 | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 |
| 2015 | 2020 | ||
Individual evidence
- ↑ Aurel Croissant: The political systems of Southeast Asia. An introduction . Wiesbaden 2016, p. 598 .
- ^ A b Yeo Lay Hwee: Electoral Politics in Singapore . In: Aurel Croissant et al. (Ed.): Electoral Politics in Southeast & East Asia. Singapore 2002.
- ↑ The Languages of Singapore | Singapore travel tips. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .
- ^ Aurel Croissant et al .: Democratization and civilian control in Asia . Houndmills 2013, p. 8 .
- ^ Dieter Nohlen: Suffrage and party system . Opladen & Farmington Hills 2009, p. 276 f .
- ↑ General Election 2015 - Results. September 12, 2015, accessed September 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Aurel Croissant: The political systems of Southeast Asia. An introduction . Wiesbaden 2016, p. 455 .