Singapore moots new laws for voting in the time of coronavirus
- The new, temporary laws will allow electors under Covid-19 stay-home orders to vote outside their electoral divisions to minimise interactions with others
- Aspiring candidates also need not be present in person during nomination proceedings under the new bill, which has yet to be passed
Under the bill, which will only be passed after it is read a second time when parliament next sits, electors who are subject to Covid-19 stay-home orders may vote outside their electoral divisions – such as the designated facilities at which they are staying – so they would not mingle with other people.
Aspiring candidates also need not be present in person during nomination proceedings if they are ill or under a quarantine or stay-home order, according to the new bill, which outlines temporary arrangements that will only apply to the next election.
Trade and industry minister Chan Chun Sing, who introduced the Parliamentary Elections (Covid-19 Special Arrangements) Bill in parliament, said there might also be “special steps” taken in the interest of public health when it came to the polling and vote-counting processes if elections were to take place amid an outbreak.
The island nation in March ordered all inbound travellers – including citizens, residents and tourists – to serve a compulsory two-week stay-home notice in a bid to identify those who had been infected with the virus. The central business district was quiet on Tuesday, with local media running pictures of empty train stations, buses and streets.