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| Election Singapore |
The nomination day will be April 27, exactly the same as that for the last general election in 2006. For the first time, the candidates will be allowed to address supporters at the nomination centers even if there is a walkover. The campaigning period is also the same nine days. No campaigning will be allowed on the cooling-off day so that voters can weigh their choices.
There will be 87 wards with 15 group representation constituencies and the 12 single-member constituencies. The opposition parties have indicated that they would contest at least 71 of the 87 seats, their biggest turnout since 1988, when only 11 of the 81 seats were uncontested.
The most high-profile candidate to be fielded by the opposition is Chen Show Mao, a 50-year-old lawyer fielded by the Workers' Party with credentials to rival those of the best candidates of the ruling People's Action Party.
The People's Action Party will be fielding 24 new candidates, including several heavyweight candidates that would be potential office holders, such as Major General Chan Chun Sing, Brigadier General Tan Chuan-Jin, former central bank chief Heng Swee Keat, Ong Ye Kung and Lawrence Wong.
"These elections are about our shared future. Voters will be choosing the party and team you trust to lead Singapore, and to improve your lives," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.
The Straits Times quoted Lee as saying that he decided to call the general election now because the time is ripe.
"All the parties have been preparing for these elections for some time. I believe the time is now ripe for me to ask voters for a fresh mandate to take Singapore forward for the next five years. "
Lee has been prime minister since 2004 and will be leading the ruling party into the battle for the second time. The party secured 66.6 percent of the votes in 2006, with 47 of the 84 seats contested.
Sources: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn
