Singapore to nominate candidates for July election

Singapore will today nominate candidates for the nation’s July 10 general elections, which will determine the 93 representatives of the country’s 14th Parliament.

For Nomination Day, MP candidates must file nomination papers at one of nine Nomination Centres; only then they may begin campaigning for any contested seats until July 9. Elections were called early this year by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), which seeks to maintain its 61-year hold on government amid growing fears over the nation’s worst ever economic crisis and recent resurgence of COVID-19.

The elections will likely see the ideologically conservative PAP, currently led by incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, challenged for all 93 elected seats at stake. The democratic socialist Worker’s Party currently forms the leading opposition party, with only three elected seats and six Non-constituency Member of Parliament seats.

Candidates campaigning in a pandemic will have to rely on digital media, which will disadvantage smaller parties that lack the PAP’s social media following and access to broadcast networks. The PAP is thus well-positioned to retain its power, just as it has sustained over 60% of the popular vote through every general election since the republic gained independence.

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