Six of the 16 people arrested after a Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) rally on Friday night are out on bail, the police said. In a statement yesterday, the police confirmed that the six, including the lone woman held, were offered bail at about 5pm. The remaining 10 are still under investigation. The police arrested them for rioting in Lavender Street, after an SDA rally in Jalan Besar GRC. (Straits Times 4 Nov 2001) (14)

  People's Action Party (PAP) incumbent for Nee Soon East Associate Professor HO Peng Kee, 47, romped home with 73.7 per cent of the valid votes to beat newcomer POH Lee-Guan of the Workers' Party. This was his first election battle since he entered politics in 1991. Bookies had at first given Nee Soon East a 50-50 chance of falling into opposition hands. But the turning point came on Thursday when Senior Minister LEE Kuan Yew stepped in to settle what he termed as "some mishandling" over temple procedures for the Hungry Ghost Festival celebrations in the seventh lunar month. After Mr LEE's intervention, the odds changed in favour of Prof. HO. Prof. Ho declined to say much but hinted that some Seventh Month Festival operators had felt pressured into giving donations to the Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC). He said he would look into the matter. (Straits Times 4 Nov 2001) (3) 

  Mr CHIAM See Tong, 66, leader of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) and Potong Pasir MP for 17 years, retained his parliamentary seat with a margin of 751 votes. Workers' Party (WP) chief and Hougang MP Mr LOW Thia Khiang managed to retain his seat by beating the PAP's new face, Mr Eric LOW, with 55 per cent of the valid votes. This was a drop from 58 per cent in 1997. (Straits Times 4 Nov 2001) (2)

  The People's Action Party (PAP) last night scored a landslide victory in the 2001 General Election capturing all but two contested seats. The ruling party received 75.3 per cent of all valid votes. This sterling showing is its third best after 1968's 86.7 per cent and 1980's 77.7 per cent and marks a 10 percentage point swing from its 65 per cent share in 1997. (Straits Times 4 Nov 2001) (1)

SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

PRESS RELEASE

ELECTION MEETINGS

The Police Liaison Officer (Elections) has issued permits for the following election meetings to be conducted tomorrow, Sunday 28 October 2001 and the day after on Monday 29 October 2001

28 October 2001 (Sunday)

29 October 2001 (Monday)

POLICE LIAISON OFFICER (ELECTIONS)

27 October 01

SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

PRESS RELEASE

 ELECTION MEETINGS

The Police Liaison Officer (Elections) has issued permits for the following election meetings to be conducted tomorrow, Saturday 27 October 2001.

POLICE LIAISON OFFICER (ELECTIONS)

26 October 01

STATEMENT BY RETURNING OFFICER

Rejection Of Workers' Party Nomination Papers At Poi Ching Nomination Centre
Invalid Statutory Declaration
The law requires a valid statutory declaration to be filed during nomination proceedings. It is the document by which the aspiring candidate positively affirms his qualification to stand for election in a particular constituency. Any false declaration would be an offence and this, and any other defect could open the candidate, if returned, to an election petition.
The Parliamentary Elections Act requires all nomination papers, including the Statutory Declaration, to be completely and properly filled out and properly executed. The Statutory Declaration form (Form 10), which is an integral part of the nomination papers, is straightforward to fill. Amongst 119 candidates in this General Elections, only the five Workers' Party (WP) members got it wrong. Of this five, three had contested in previous elections, and the three had got it right then.
What was omitted by the WP candidates in each of their Statutory Declarations was the constituency they wanted to stand in. This is a material omission, which is not curable under the Parliamentary Elections Act. It is critical information because each nomination centre covers several electoral divisions. Poi Ching School was the nomination centre for 2 constituencies, Aljunied and Tampines.
What the WP candidate did subsequently was not merely fill in a missing detail. He made an amendment to already affirmed declarations, without reaffirmation, and then attempted to submit the amended but not re-affirmed Statutory Declarations as valid Statutory Declarations. The Statutory Declarations were by then invalid and could not be acted upon. The actions of the WP candidates in submitting such altered declarations was also highly improper and may amount to an offence in itself.
The Workers' Party commented that election officials did not offer them any advice or help. Election officials cannot offer any advice or assistance. Otherwise, they run the risk of being accused of favouring one party or the other, and open the whole process to malpractice. They are impartial administrators of the election process. It is the responsibility of the contending parties to ensure that the nomination papers are in order.
Workers' Party Appeal
Workers' Party Secretary-General Mr Low Thia Kiang submitted an appeal to the Returning Officer against the rejection of the nomination papers. The Returning Officer replied yesterday that he has no power in law to entertain the appeal. The proper recourse is to file an election petition in accordance with the Parliamentary Elections Act.
Workers' Party's 1997 Episode
It was reported in the media that though the Workers' Party had similar difficulties with Statutory Declarations in the 1997 General Elections, the election officials had accepted defective Statutory Declarations then. This is not true. The 1997 episode was entirely different from the current one.
The 1997 Statutory Declarations were in order, and were posted up together with the respective nomination papers. The PAP candidates challenged the validity of the Statutory Declarations. The election officials then overruled the PAP challenge, because the Statutory Declarations were certainly in order, in the first place.
Independent Candidate Ooi Boon Ewe's Objections
Mr Ooi had filled in the distinguishing numbers of his proposer, seconder and assentors with the polling district prefixes EC-EC-xx, whilst PAP candidate Mr Chan Soo Sen used the prefixes JC-EC-xx. Mr Ooi objected to the nomination papers submitted by Mr Chan, on the mistaken basis that because the prefixes were different, Mr Chan's proposer, seconder and assentors were not electors from Joo Chiat. The objection was overruled, as all of them are indeed Joo Chiat electors in the certified electoral register.
When the new electoral register was issued in the evening of 17 Oct 2001, after the electoral boundaries were redrawn with Joo Chiat SMC carved out of the former East Coast GRC, the designation EC-EC-xx signifying its origins appeared together with the new JC-EC-xx designation. Mr Ooi used the old designation. In the event, either set of polling district prefixes conclusively identified both sets of proposers, seconders and assentors as bona fide Joo Chiat electors.

ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT
26 OCTOBER 2001

The Police Liaison Officer (Elections) has issued permits for the following election meetings to be conducted tomorrow, Friday 26 October 2001.

POLICE LIAISON OFFICER (ELECTIONS)

25 October 01 @ 6.30PM

GE 2001 NR 4

MEDIA RELEASE

The law requires a valid statutory declaration to be filed during nomination proceedings. It is the document by which the aspiring candidate positively affirms his qualification to stand for election. Any false declaration would be an offence and open the candidate, if returned, to an election petition.

The nomination papers filed by the Workers’ Party for Aljunied GRC were not in compliance with the Provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act in that the Statutory Declarations were invalid.

The Statutory Declarations when first delivered contained blanks where the candidates were required to state the electoral division they were qualified to stand in.

All the five candidates filed similarly defective Statutory Declarations.

When the Statutory Declarations were rejected, one of the candidates filled up the blank in all the five Statutory Declarations, on the spot, without having the Statutory Declarations reaffirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths or a Justice of Peace.

The second delivery was also rejected as the Statutory Declarations were invalid and therefore the nomination papers were not in compliance with the provisions in the Parliamentary Elections Act.

TAN BOON HUAT

RETURNING OFFICER

ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT

25 OCTOBER 2001

DISPLAY OF POSTERS AND BANNERS

Each candidate in a contested Electoral Division has been issued a permit to display posters and banners, in the Electoral Division in which he or she seeks election, in accordance with the Parliamentary Elections (Election Advertising) Regulations 2001.

2 Candidates have to comply with the following:

• A copy of each type of poster and a design of each banner must be lodged with the Returning Officer before it is displayed.
• Every poster and banner displayed must be affixed with a stamp bearing the official mark of the Returning Officer.
• The number of posters and banners to be displayed shall not exceed the number authorised for each electoral division.
• No person shall conduct any election activity unless he is authorised in writing by a candidate or his election agent.

3. The definition of poster and banner is as follows:

• "poster" includes any label, set of colours, drawings, painting, advertisement, handbill or placard or any replica of a voting paper or of the symbol of any political party;
• "banner" includes a flag, bunting, ensign or standard.

4. Any person who commits an offense under the Regulations shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months.

5. Any poster or banner which is displayed in contravention of any of the provisions of the regulations or of any term or condition contained in the permit will be removed and the offender prosecuted. Reports of any unauthorised poster and banner can be made to Tel: 8357480.

TAN BOON HUAT

RETURNING OFFICER

25 OCTOBER 2001 1300 HOURS

POLL CARDS
Polling Day is Saturday, 3rd November 2001. Polling commences at 8:00am and closes at 8:00pm.
Eligible voters in the contested electoral divisions will begin to receive their poll cards from Friday 26 October. All eligible voters should have received a poll card by Monday 29 October. The poll card will show where a voter needs to go to cast his or her vote. Voters would have to vote in the electoral division corresponding to their NRIC addresses as at 31 August 2001. Voting is compulsory.
VOTING
Poll cards are printed in batches of four, to accommodate up to four voters living in the same household. The card should then be cut up as appropriate and distributed among the respective voters. On polling day, bring your poll card and NRIC with you to your designated polling station. On arrival at the polling station, you can identify your specific polling counter (or room) by referring to the polling place number stated on the poll card. Polling officials will be on hand to direct you to the correct place.
If you have not received your poll card by 29 October 2001, or have misplaced it, you may check your polling details by logging onto the Elections Department website at www.elections.gov.sg or make an enquiry at a nearby community centre. The hotline for community centres is Tel: 8381266. If you are required to vote, simply note down the location of your respective polling station and polling place number, and go there, with your NRIC, to cast your vote.
The following categories of persons will not receive poll cards:-
(a) Voters in uncontested electoral divisions;
(b) Citizens whose names are not in the current Registers of Electors;
(c) Voters who failed to vote at previous Presidential and Parliamentary elections and who have not restored their names to the Registers of Electors;
(d) Citizens who were less than 21 years of age on 31 August 2001;
(e) Persons who were issued with Singapore citizenship certificates or pink identity cards, and thus became Singapore citizens, after 31 August 2001; and
(f) Holders of non-citizen (blue) Singapore identity cards.
VOTING FOR THE ELDERLY & INVALID
Voters who are 65 years old and above on 31 December 2001 and invalids will be given priority to enable them to vote expeditiously at the polling station.
Voters who are 65 years old and above on 31 December 2001 can be identified by the symbol ">>>" printed on their poll cards.


TAN BOON HUAT
RETURNING OFFICER
25 OCTOBER 2001 1700HOURS

----------------------

Basic Q&As
Q: When will I receive my poll card?
A: All eligible voters will receive their polling cards in their mail-box from 26 -29 Oct 2001.
Q: How do I check whether I need to vote or not?
A: You can check whether your electoral division is contested and whether you are eligible to vote via two methods

Via Elections Dept website - www.elections.gov.sg or
Via the Community Centres hotline (Tel: 8381266)

Q: What if I am not listed on the Register of Electors. How do I get to vote?
A: You would not be able to vote during this GE. If you want to get yourself reinstated to vote in the next GE, you should contact the Elections Department after this General Elections at the Elections Department website at www.elections.gov.sg or by Fax: 3323428. The address of Elections Department is 11 Prinsep Link, Singapore 187949.
Q: What if I do not receive/misplace my poll card? Can I still vote?
A: The Poll card does not entitle you to vote, it merely identifies the polling station whereby you could cast your vote. For those who do not receive their Poll cards by 29 Oct or who have misplaced their Poll card, they may log onto the Elections Department website at www.elections.gov.sg to print out their polling station address and polling place number, or they could make an enquiry at a nearby community centre (Tel: 8381266).
On Polling Day, as long as you appear at your designated polling station with your IC or passport, you would be eligible to vote if your name is found on the register of electors for the contested division.
Q: When and what time can I vote?
A: You can vote on Saturday 3 Nov 2001, between 8 am and 8 pm at the polling station specified on your poll card.
Q: Is voting compulsory? Will I be penalised if I do not vote?
A: Voting is compulsory. If you fail to vote, your name will be removed from the Register of Electors and you will have to reinstate your name to vote in future elections. To reinstate your name, you need to write in to the Elections Department. If you cannot furnish a good and sufficient reason for your failure to vote, you have to pay $5 to restore your name to the Register of Electors.
Q: What assistance would be given to handicapped persons to vote? Is it compulsory for them to vote?
A: Handicapped persons would be permitted to 'jump queue' at polling stations. They are encouraged to vote on their own. However, if they are incapable of casting their own vote, they may request for assistance from polling staff. All polling staff are sworn to secrecy and are authorised to assist handicapped persons in casting their votes. Friends or relatives are not permitted to directly assist handicapped persons in casting their vote.
Q: Can I vote on my elderly parents' behalf?
A: You cannot vote on their behalf but you can accompany them to the polling station. Priority to vote would be given to elderly or handicapped persons at polling stations. If your parents are incapable of voting on their own, you could approach polling officials to assist your elderly parents in casting their votes.

  There will be no election rallies at lunchtime in the central business district (CBD) in the run-up to Polling Day, for the first time since Singapore became independent. The police said yesterday that security concerns after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States have ruled out meetings where large numbers of people gather in small areas. (Straits Times 23 Oct 2001)(H6)

  Polling Day on Saturday 3 Nov 2001 is a public holiday and the Manpower Ministry reminds all employers that they must compensate their workers with an extra day's pay in lieu of the holiday, or give them another day off as a holiday, if a public holiday falls on a non-working day or a day off. In a press release, the ministry said that if an employee is required to work on any public holiday, he should be paid an extra day's salary at the basic rate of pay for working on a public holiday, in addition to the gross rate of pay for that holiday. (Straits Times 21 Oct 2001)(28)

Number of NOMINATION PAPERS issued

ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT

20 OCTOBER 2001

  Polling Date fixed as 3 Nov 2001 which has been gazetted a public holiday.

  Notice of Election sets Nomination Date as 25 Oct 2001.

  President dissolves Parliament on 18 Oct 2001.

Four-member GRCs have been wiped off the electoral map, according to boundary changes made public yesterday, paving the way for what looks set to be a November General Election. There will be 14 Group Representations Constituencies - nine GRCs returning five members and five GRCs with six members - one fewer than before. Opposition-held wards Hougang and Potong Pasir have their boundaries intact, as do the PAP's Nee Soon Central. But Bukit Gombak, Boon Lay and Kampung Glam have been scrapped and merged into GRCs. Three new single-seat wards were created: Joo Chiat, Nee Soon East and Bukit Timah. In all, the next Parliament will have 84 MPs, one more than at present. The number of voters has also gone up: from 1,880,560 in 1996 to 2,035,422. (Straits Times 18 Oct 2001)(1)

  Detailed rules on election advertising were released yesterday, with e-mail and SMS messages now covered. Political parties, candidates and election agents who send out e-mail and SMS messages containing election advertising during an election must indicate who is sending the messages and on whose behalf they are sent. Such e-mail messages must not include a "chain-letter" appeal, expressly stated or otherwise, asking the receiver to send them to others. Political parties, candidates and their election agents must also stop sending e-mail messages to any person who has asked them to. These rules were released as regulations under the Parliamentary Elections Act, amended in August to allow political parties to advertise on the Internet. Features allowed in Internet election advertising include pictures of candidates, party history, candidates' biographies and manifestos, e-mail promoting or opposing a party or candidate and party publications. Also allowed are calls for members, volunteers or canvassers, notices of meetings or constituency visits, chatrooms and forums and links to sites without election advertising or with permitted forms of election advertising. Straits Times 18 Oct 2001(3)