Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calls election

Lee Hsien Loong will seek a fresh mandate mext month amid a global pandemic that has caused the city state’s worst economic contraction.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Picture: AP

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will take his government to the polls next month to seek a fresh mandate amid a global pandemic that has caused the city state’s worst economic contraction.

Mr Lee said in a national address on Tuesday that he had asked President Halimah Yacob to dissolve parliament in preparation for an election “that will be like no other we have experienced, not just because of the special arrangements to deal with COVID-19 but because of the gravity of the situation and the issues at stake”.

“The government you elect will have critical decisions to make (that) will impact your lives and livelihoods and shape Singapore for many years to come, far beyond the five-year term of the next government.”

Mr Lee’s speech, highlighting his administration’s actions to deal with the pandemic and protect jobs and businesses, was an acknowledgment that the election would be a referendum on his government’s handling of the pandemic and the economic devastation it has wrought.

Singapore has had more than 42,000 COVID-19 cases as a result of a massive outbreak in its overcrowded migrant-worker dormitories that forced the country into a strict two-month lockdown that is only now being loosened.

But it has had only 26 deaths, one of the world’s lowest mortality rates from the coronavirus.

With the pandemic almost certain to drag on for at least another year, and the world facing great uncertainty amid the US-China power struggle, Singapore needed a “capable government with the strong backing of the people to do all that needs to be done on your behalf and see us through these tumultuous times”, he said

“We don’t know what surprises may be in store for us within the next year but as dangers materialise we must navigate through them and protect Singapore’s security and national interest.”

Amid weeks of speculation leading up to Tuesday’s announcement, some have questioned the legitimacy of holding elections during the pandemic given the already overwhelming advantage enjoyed by the ruling People’s Action Party, which has been in government since 1959 and currently holds 83 of a total 89 seats in parliament.

But Mr Lee defended his decision, saying it made sense to “clear the decks” while things were relatively stable in order to give the new government a fresh five-year mandate.

“It can then focus on this national agenda and the difficult decisions it will have to make. The alternative is to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have no assurance that (it) will be over before this government’s term must end next April.”

While the pandemic meant it could “not be a normal election campaign” and physical election rallies would not be possible, candidates would still be able to campaign house-to-house and would be given opportunities to speak on television and online via livestreaming.

More polling stations would also be set up to reduce crowding with safe distancing measures enforced, and voters allotted allocated time slots for voting.

Mr Lee did not announce an election date during his speech, but in a later statement revealed nomination day would be July 1, with a cooling off day on July 9, meaning an election is likely to be held on Friday, July 10.