Parliament is dissolved and the writ of election issued
Here we go!
Hello and welcome to a special edition of GE20Watch!
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has advised President Halimah to dissolve Parliament and issue the Writ of Election, which she has done. This officially marks the start of the election period. Nomination Day will be on 30 June, which is when the campaigning process starts, and Polling Day will be on 10 July, after the mandated minimum of 9 days of campaigning and Cooling-Off Day.
For a list of the nomination places, click here to see the Elections Department’s press release.
Confused about the new campaigning rules? Check out this previous issue where we went through the guidelines on election campaigning. If you missed it, do also check out this issue where we went through the new safety measures for Nomination and Polling Day, as well as the changes to election advertising rules.
The Opposition reveals more plans
More opposition parties have slowly revealed their plans for the GE, with the WP reportedly contesting Aljunied, East Coast, Marine Parade, and Sengkang GRCs, as well as Hougang SMCs. These are all areas they have contested in recent years. Soon after PM Lee announced that Parliament was dissolved, WP wasted no time in releasing a ‘Coming Soon’ video, featuring what is most likely their slate of candidates for the next election. Notable inclusions are Nicole Seah, the former NSP star candidate who makes her return to the political scene after 9 years, and Jamus Lim, who had been spotted on WP walkabouts. The video does omit some notable figures such as Low Thia Khiang and Png Eng Huat, so expect more details from WP in due time.
The PSP have unveiled six more candidates and revealed that they would contest West Coast, Tanjong Pagar, and Choa Chu Kang GRCs, as well as Hong Kah North, Pioneer, Marymount, Yio Chu Kang, and Kebun Baru SMCs. Some notable candidates are Dr Tan Meng Wah, a former research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, and NUS Law undergraduate Choo Shaun Ming, who could be the youngest candidate in this election.
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