WP urges Govt to ‘take caution and exercise judiciousness’ when calling next GE
The Workers' Party said it would be ready and prepared for an election when it is called, and would take the necessary precautions to run a fair and safe campaign.
SINGAPORE — The Workers’ Party (WP) has urged the Government to “take caution and exercise judiciousness” when calling Singapore’s next General Election (GE).
In a statement on Sunday (March 15), the opposition party said it would be ready and prepared for an election when it is called, and would take the necessary precautions to run a fair and safe campaign.
Singapore’s next GE must be held before April 21 next year, and in the surest indicator that it could be just weeks or months away, a committee mapping out the electoral boundaries for the polls released its report last Friday.
WP said it understood that there was “a lot of speculation and excitement” over when the GE would be called because of the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s report.
The party said: “In line with past experience, the General Election is usually called very soon after the report’s release.
“However, the WP recognises the situation facing Singapore at present is different. There are worries about the spread of Covid-19 and its impact on the economy.”
The comments from WP, Singapore’s main opposition party, came a day after opposition leaders Tan Cheng Bock and Chee Soon Juan repeated their parties’ calls for the Government to hold off the next GE until after the Covid-19 outbreak blows over.
There has been a chorus of concern from opposition parties at the prospect of early polls being held amid the public health crisis.
On Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that if the polls were held before the pandemic is over, the authorities would take all the necessary precautions so that parties can campaign effectively and people can vote safely.
Writing on Facebook, he laid out two options for the election: Hold it under “more normal circumstances” if things stabilise before the end of the term in April 2021, or call it early to elect a new government with “a fresh mandate and a full term ahead of it”.
The prime minister had warned on Thursday that the outbreak would continue for some time — “a year and maybe longer”.
On the timing of the GE, the WP said it does not want to partake in speculation.
“We urge the Government to take caution and exercise judiciousness in calling for a GE. Whatever decision that is made must be one that is in the best interests of Singapore, our democracy and the public health of Singaporeans,” the party added.
