<![CDATA[Singapore election nears despite coronavirus with release of new electoral boundaries]>

Singapore on Friday released its new electoral boundaries in a sign that a general election will be called within months, even as it battles the coronavirus outbreak and emphasises the need for more social distancing.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has until April next year to request that the president dissolve Parliament and trigger the start of a general election, but analysts said it was possible a vote could be held as early as next month.

In previous elections, the timing between the release of the report and the dissolution of Parliament has ranged from one day to one month and 26 days. The election must be held within three months from the date Parliament is dissolved.

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States that subsequently rattled world markets, Parliament was dissolved the day after the report was released in October.

In the last election in 2015, the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) " a panel tasked to recommend the number and boundaries of the country's single-member and multi-seat constituencies " sent its report to the prime minister on July 21, the report was released on July 24, and the general election was held on September 11.

Eugene Tan, a law professor and former Nominated Member of Parliament, said he believed the election could be "as early as April, and another window is June".

About 14 per cent of the Singapore population are Muslim and the fasting month is set to begin on April 24, with the Eid festival to be celebrated a month later, making it unlikely that polls would fall within this period.

Tan said this was a tricky election to navigate, given public health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, while political scientist Bilveer Singh said he expected smaller sessions, such as dialogues, to be held during the campaign period, instead of mass rallies.

Leader of the Singapore Democratic Party, Chee Soon Juan. File photo: AFP alt=Leader of the Singapore Democratic Party, Chee Soon Juan. File photo: AFP

On Thursday, before the release of the report, the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) had criticised any move to hold an election in the near future as "irresponsible". Another opposition party, the Progress Singapore Party, said on Friday it believed the country should concentrate on fighting the outbreak for now.

Virus infections are surging across the United States and Europe, and global markets have slumped as investors assess whether emergency fiscal and monetary tools by policymakers can keep a recession at bay.

Singapore is battling to keep its cases down while not closing itself off completely to the world. It has reported 187 infections though 96 have recovered. On Thursday, Lee said the country was preparing for a spike in cases and had plans for more social distancing, including closing schools and having shorter religious services. On Friday, authorities told organisers to cancel or postpone ticketed events with more than 250 participants.

The EBRC report, which came seven months after the panel was formed said there would be 31 wards in the next election, up from 29 in 2015. Fourteen will be single-seat constituencies, while 17 will be multi-seat ones, up from 13 and 16, respectively. This will bring the number of seats in Parliament to 93, up from 89.

In the multi-seat wards, known as group representation constituencies (GRCs) that must have at least one ethnic minority candidate, there will no longer be up to six representatives. Five is now the maximum number, a change aimed at addressing complaints from Singaporeans that the GRC system was not truly democratic for it allowed some voters more voting power than others.

The change will affect the Ang Mo Kio GRC now helmed by Lee, which currently has six members.

The EBRC report also said there would be no changes to the only wards held by the opposition Workers' Party " Aljunied GRC with five representatives, and the Hougang single-member constituency.

A notice in the government gazette said the EBRC report, which was submitted to the prime minister on Wednesday, had taken into account population shifts.

"The Committee reviewed all the existing electoral divisions, taking into account their current configurations, changes in the number of electors due to population shifts and housing estates," said the report.

The Workers' Party, commenting on the report, pointed out that the committee had as usual not explained how it came to its decisions.

For example, it did not explain why it chose to create new single-member wards while dissolving others that the party had been "active in for many years", the party said.

Singh, a professor at the National University of Singapore, suggested the polls could be held during the school holidays between end-May and end-June. Given concerns about large gatherings fuelling the spread of the Covid-19 illness, he said: "This means that there would be a greater use of technologies and political podcasts."

Rallies were typically important for opposition parties as they could extend their reach and persuade voters about their causes, he pointed out.

"The key is if the opposition can mine a national issue to hurt the PAP in all wards like it did in 2011? It's hard to tell," Singh said, referring to when the opposition made landmark gains by riding on discontent related to immigration and housing.

Tan said the social distancing measures that could be in place during election rallies will not go down well with the opposition, but the ruling party could be counting on strong support during the uncertainty of the coronavirus outbreak and the economic fallout.

"To the PAP, it's an opportunity to secure the mandate; the opposition, it will be opportunism," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, touted as the prime minister in waiting as Lee is widely expected to step down at some point after the next election, had said on Wednesday that the government was mulling over whether "will the challenges be greater now or ... be greater a year from now" in deciding on the election date.

It prompted the SDP on Thursday to state that the priority for Singapore should be ridding itself of the health threat.

"Elections can come later," it said in a statement. "We hope that the PAP will not capitalise on the crisis by holding the GE at this time as it will take away valuable resources needed to combat the virus outbreak and jeopardise the public's health and well-being."

However, regional economist Manu Bhaskaran, who is also chief executive of economics research firm Centennial Asia Advisors, said it may be a good time for the government to "get elections over with and then operate with a fresh mandate".

"While the virus crisis continues, Singapore seems to have it under control, so no reason to postpone simply because of the virus," he said.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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