S'pore dissolves parliament, to hold elections on Nov. 3
S'pore dissolves parliament, to hold elections on Nov. 3
Agencies, Singapore
Singapore, which is struggling through a severe economic crisis,
will hold general elections on Nov. 3, the government said on
Thursday.
The announcement came about an hour after a government
statement said President S.R. Nathan, on advice of Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong, dissolved the legislature.
Nomination day - the day when candidates are announced for
each constituency - will be on Oct. 25. Most seats have gone
uncontested in the past two elections, allowing the ruling
Peoples' Action Party to win on nomination day.
Goh left the city-state Thursday for the meeting of Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation.
The government does not officially finish its five-year term
until August 2002, but analysts and opposition leaders had been
expecting an early election in the wake of bad economic news.
Singapore - a small but wealthy trade-dependent Southeast
Asian island nation - is experiencing its worst economic slump.
Opposition candidate James Gomez said the gloomy state of the
economy will be the biggest election issue.
Singapore slipped into recession earlier this year, and the
government now says the economy will contract by 3 percent this
year, after 9.9 percent growth last year.
The economy was hurt by a fall in demand for electronics - its
major export - especially in its biggest market, the United
States. Singapore's economic woes have been made worse by the
sharp downturn in consumer confidence following the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks on the United States and Washington's military
response.
After unveiling a S$11.3 billion (US$6.2 billion) stimulus
package last week, the government announced redrawn electoral
boundaries on Wednesday. Voter rolls opened last month.
"They have just released their off-budget measures to help
Singaporeans," said National University of Singapore political
science professor Lee Lai To.
"The economy is not doing well and there will be all sorts of
economic problems ahead, so this is probably the opportune time
for the party in power to have a general election."
Gomez said he is confident the opposition can muster enough
votes to take more than the two seats it won at the last poll
because people are unhappy that they are heading into poverty.
He said the election has been called at a crucial time.
"The people have an opposition to do what they want - all the
checks and balances in Parliament. The opposition is going into
the election with the new poor," said Gomez.
Candidates can only begin campaigning after nominations close
on Oct. 25. Social Democratic Party secretary general Chee Soon
Juan said this is done mainly through political rallies.
"In eight days you can't knock on many doors," said Chee,
adding that he will not be doing any television campaigns.
The ruling People's Action Party has held power in the island
republic since 1959, winning 10 elections in a row. It is
expected to dominate again.
Critics say the government control of the media limits the
rise of the opposition in Singapore.
"You don't go in knowing you stand a fair chance of winning
but we have to keep the (democracy) process going," said the
Social Democratic Party's Chee.
It also set out new rules for Internet use during the
election, allowing photographs of candidates, calls for members
and chat rooms but banning opinion polls and appeals for funds.
Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- also chairman of the
central bank and son of Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's
first prime minister -- introduced four new candidates on
Thursday and said the PAP would publish its manifesto on Friday.