Has Singapore’s fake news law passed the election test?
- Final days of campaigning offered one of the biggest tests yet for the nine-month-old law
- But opposition politicians differ on whether it made them pull any punches
The government vigorously denied those claims, pointing out that the law provided for top civil servants, not ministers, to wield executive powers during an election campaign.
With a day left in the nine-day official campaigning period, opposition politicians and analysts who spoke to This Week in Asia offered a mixed bag of views on the law’s effect on the hustings.
Independent analysts said the need for Pofma during elections was not in dispute, though questions remained on the neutrality of civil service mandarins who make the first-instance decision on whether it should be invoked.
03:34
Singapore's ruling People’s Action Party seeks vote of confidence in upcoming general election
Since Pofma’s executive powers were transferred to the civil servants on June 23 – when the president issued a writ of election on Lee’s request – Pofma has been invoked six times.