Civil Service head thanks public officers for hard work during GE2015
Singaporean voters have seen at the Polling Station at Lorong 4 Toa Payoh, on Sept 11, 2015. Photo: Koh Mui Fong
SINGAPORE – The head of Civil Service thanked all public officers for their hard work through the 2015 General Election in a Facebook post today (Sept 14).
There were about 30,000 of public officers involved in elections process, in which over 2.3 million Singaporeans voted.
Mr Peter Ong wrote: “I would like to salute each and every officer who worked on GE2015, including those in the Elections Department. I want to say a big thank you for the long hours at the polling stations and counting centres, dealing with the haze, and ensuring it was a smooth voting process for all Singaporeans.”
He’d acknowledged the extensive preparations for the elections that began months ago, which required public officers to attend training sessions and completing online training modules on top of their regular work. And even after polls closed at 8pm on Friday, their work was not yet done. Election officials and police had to seal ballot boxes and take them to counting centres – the last of which closed at 3am Saturday morning after the Aljunied GRC recount – and later to the Supreme Court vault for storage after the counting was completed and the results announced.
Mr Ong also lauded the police for maintaining safety and security during the nine-day hustings, especially at rallies across the island.
He added: “The night before Polling Day, they stood guard over the polling stations ... to ensure the best flow of people and to accommodate the elderly and the disabled.”
“The worsening haze threw another challenge and preparations were made to ensure adequate N95 masks were available at all polling stations, with more masks distributed to polling stations through the day.”
Mr Ong said he had received many messages on polling day from many who shared about how they were touched by election officials and police officers going about their duties across 832 polling stations islandwide, and how efficicient the voting process was, with many casting their votes in under 10 minutes.
He made special mention of a case where an 83-year-old wheelchair-bound grandmother was helped down by election officials to vote and also escorted back home – “all by cheerful, smiling, election officials”.
“I am especially proud of how we have come together as One Trusted Public Service with Citizens at the Centre. It is a testament to the integrity, service and excellence of the Public Service that Singaporeans appreciate how you carried out the process of democracy efficiently and fairly, even managing to put a smile on many of their faces,” Mr Ong added.
