http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,483629,00.html?
Published March 27, 2012
Voter rolls update - by-election soon?
By KELLY TAY
(SINGAPORE) Just eight months after the registers of electors were last updated in July, the Elections Department (ELD) yesterday said that the nation's voter rolls will be updated again on April 13 - which could set the stage for a by-election in Hougang expected by many to take place soon.
According to a notice published yesterday in the electronic version of the Government Gazette, Singaporeans who have changed the address on their national registration identity cards (NRICs) since July 11, 2011 - the cut-off date for the last exercise - will have their names removed and transferred to the appropriate registers, based on their NRIC addresses as on March 19 this year.
Before the changes are effected, the list of all affected voters who will be removed or transferred will be available for inspection over a two-week period, from March 27 to April 9, at the ELD office at 11 Prinsep Link.
Voters can also visit www.elections.gov.sg - the ELD's website - to check the list, or do so in person at a community centre or community club.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in Parliament that he would call for a by-election in Hougang.
The single member constituency seat has been vacant since Feb 14, when the Workers' Party sacked former Member of Parliament (MP) Yaw Shin Leong, after it deemed that he had failed to address allegations of his extra-marital affairs.
Said CIMB's research head, Song Seng Wun: 'It's not wrong to assume that this means the Hougang by-election is coming, as this update is the first step towards that. The question, of course, is when?'
But Singapore Management University law professor and Nominated MP Eugene Tan told BT that while a coming by-election is certainly a possibility, he views the update more as a 'routine move'.
Said Mr Tan: 'I actually think the by-election is likely to be later rather than sooner - sometime in the last quarter of this year, perhaps.'
'A later by-election would not only mean that the PAP (People's Action Party) would be more prepared, but also that some of the policies which have been put in place to deal with hot-button issues would have time to work their way through the system. There could be some positive outcomes from this, which could translate into electoral dividends, and I think this is what the PAP is hoping for.'
One reading among political watchers is that Hougang may not be the only battleground as the ruling party seeks to continue its renewal process and bring in fresh blood.
Mr Tan added: 'It wouldn't surprise me if the PAP were to also use the fact that there would be a by-election in Hougang to perhaps have by-elections in other constituencies.'
He cited Ong Ye Kung as a potential new candidate the PAP is keen to bring in. Mr Ong, seen as a promising prospect for the PAP, stood and lost in Aljunied GRC during the last general election.
But Mr Song disagreed with such speculation, saying: 'I don't think it's really necessary for (the PAP) to get side-tracked with politicking at this point - there are more pressing issues to be addressed and dealt with.'
The High Court has set March 30 as the date to hear an application by Hougang resident Vellama Marie Muthu for PM Lee to call a by-election in Hougang within three months, or within a 'reasonable time' deemed by the court.
Published March 27, 2012
Voter rolls update - by-election soon?
By KELLY TAY
(SINGAPORE) Just eight months after the registers of electors were last updated in July, the Elections Department (ELD) yesterday said that the nation's voter rolls will be updated again on April 13 - which could set the stage for a by-election in Hougang expected by many to take place soon.
According to a notice published yesterday in the electronic version of the Government Gazette, Singaporeans who have changed the address on their national registration identity cards (NRICs) since July 11, 2011 - the cut-off date for the last exercise - will have their names removed and transferred to the appropriate registers, based on their NRIC addresses as on March 19 this year.
Before the changes are effected, the list of all affected voters who will be removed or transferred will be available for inspection over a two-week period, from March 27 to April 9, at the ELD office at 11 Prinsep Link.
Voters can also visit www.elections.gov.sg - the ELD's website - to check the list, or do so in person at a community centre or community club.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in Parliament that he would call for a by-election in Hougang.
The single member constituency seat has been vacant since Feb 14, when the Workers' Party sacked former Member of Parliament (MP) Yaw Shin Leong, after it deemed that he had failed to address allegations of his extra-marital affairs.
Said CIMB's research head, Song Seng Wun: 'It's not wrong to assume that this means the Hougang by-election is coming, as this update is the first step towards that. The question, of course, is when?'
But Singapore Management University law professor and Nominated MP Eugene Tan told BT that while a coming by-election is certainly a possibility, he views the update more as a 'routine move'.
Said Mr Tan: 'I actually think the by-election is likely to be later rather than sooner - sometime in the last quarter of this year, perhaps.'
'A later by-election would not only mean that the PAP (People's Action Party) would be more prepared, but also that some of the policies which have been put in place to deal with hot-button issues would have time to work their way through the system. There could be some positive outcomes from this, which could translate into electoral dividends, and I think this is what the PAP is hoping for.'
One reading among political watchers is that Hougang may not be the only battleground as the ruling party seeks to continue its renewal process and bring in fresh blood.
Mr Tan added: 'It wouldn't surprise me if the PAP were to also use the fact that there would be a by-election in Hougang to perhaps have by-elections in other constituencies.'
He cited Ong Ye Kung as a potential new candidate the PAP is keen to bring in. Mr Ong, seen as a promising prospect for the PAP, stood and lost in Aljunied GRC during the last general election.
But Mr Song disagreed with such speculation, saying: 'I don't think it's really necessary for (the PAP) to get side-tracked with politicking at this point - there are more pressing issues to be addressed and dealt with.'
The High Court has set March 30 as the date to hear an application by Hougang resident Vellama Marie Muthu for PM Lee to call a by-election in Hougang within three months, or within a 'reasonable time' deemed by the court.
