There are only two possible reasons why no time limit was given to call a bye-election and neither of them can be taken to imply that the PM has the unconditional right not to call for a bye-election.makapaaa said:
First, it was a simple act of careless omission. Second, it was a deliberate act of omission, giving the ruling party the advantage of picking the most appropriate time to call the by-election or even to argue whether there should be one or not. If the reason for having no time limit was so clear as to give the PM the right whether to call a by-election, it would have been fully debated in parliament and duly recorded.
The other misperception that has often been paraded to gain advantage in argument is that the parties and not individual members are voted into parliament. This is ridiculous as MPs are elected on their right, although under party banners. This is true in all democratic elections in the world and Singapore is no exception. The party labeling only determines which party earns the right to rule.
Once voted into parliament, the MPs cast their votes as individuals. Nothing in the Constitution says they must vote along party lines. If there is any explicit thing that need to be said about this in the Constitution, it would in fact be the opposite. As a result, any MP's vote is important in the law-making in the country. The sooner a by-election is held the better.
