And the sneaky dirty trick is:
HOW TO REGISTER TO BE AN OVERSEAS ELECTOR
Singapore Citizens who are residing overseas and wish to cast their votes at any of the nine designated overseas polling stations during elections may apply to be registered as overseas electors, provided they satisfy the following qualifying criteria as on 1 February 2010:-
(a) They are Singapore citizen not less than 21 years old;
(b) They have a Singapore residential address registered with the Commissioner of National Registration (at the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority) (ie. a valid local address in the NRIC)...
(c) They are not disqualified from being an elector under any prevailing law; and
(d) They have resided in Singapore for a total of 30 days during the three years immediately before 1 February 2010.
So regardless of whether you have been a Singapore citizen for 5 generations or more, if you were unable to spend at least 1 whole month in Singapore in the past 3 years due to circumstances beyond your control e.g. American workers get just 2 weeks leave per year, you may not have the funds to make several trips to red dot at great cost if you have a family, etc., YOU ARE FARKED AND DENIED YOUR VOTE!
PAP knows that the majority of overseas voters are dead set against its authoritarian rule which is why most left the nation in the first place. Better be kiasu than sorry so throw in every obstacle they can think of to stop Singaporeans overseas from casting their legitimate votes while pretending to international onlookers, "See, we are a democratic country. All citizens get to vote!" Notice that in a REAL democracy like the USA or the UK, all citizens living abroad get to vote simply by calling at the embassy on the day with ID and without petty obstructive rules and regulations.
HOW TO REGISTER TO BE AN OVERSEAS ELECTOR
Singapore Citizens who are residing overseas and wish to cast their votes at any of the nine designated overseas polling stations during elections may apply to be registered as overseas electors, provided they satisfy the following qualifying criteria as on 1 February 2010:-
(a) They are Singapore citizen not less than 21 years old;
(b) They have a Singapore residential address registered with the Commissioner of National Registration (at the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority) (ie. a valid local address in the NRIC)...
(c) They are not disqualified from being an elector under any prevailing law; and
(d) They have resided in Singapore for a total of 30 days during the three years immediately before 1 February 2010.
So regardless of whether you have been a Singapore citizen for 5 generations or more, if you were unable to spend at least 1 whole month in Singapore in the past 3 years due to circumstances beyond your control e.g. American workers get just 2 weeks leave per year, you may not have the funds to make several trips to red dot at great cost if you have a family, etc., YOU ARE FARKED AND DENIED YOUR VOTE!
PAP knows that the majority of overseas voters are dead set against its authoritarian rule which is why most left the nation in the first place. Better be kiasu than sorry so throw in every obstacle they can think of to stop Singaporeans overseas from casting their legitimate votes while pretending to international onlookers, "See, we are a democratic country. All citizens get to vote!" Notice that in a REAL democracy like the USA or the UK, all citizens living abroad get to vote simply by calling at the embassy on the day with ID and without petty obstructive rules and regulations.