Singapore presidential election: authorities warn against foreign interference, ‘malicious’ cyber threats
- Singapore authorities said there have been attempts by foreign actors to ‘manipulate domestic politics’ in recent years, such as in the US and French presidential polls
- They urged the city state’s citizens and presidential candidates to be on guard against ‘malicious’ cyber activities
Singapore authorities on Tuesday warned presidential candidates about the threat of foreign interference and “malicious” cyber activities, ahead of a potential election for the largely ceremonial role next month.
In a joint advisory to the candidates, the republic’s Ministry of Home Affairs, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and the Elections Department said there had been attempts by foreign actors to “manipulate domestic politics through covert and deceptive means” in elections elsewhere. The authorities cited the 2020 US presidential election and the 2017 French presidential election as examples of such foreign interference.
The authorities also said candidates played a key role in “safeguarding the integrity of the election”, and advised them to monitor their social media platforms for suspicious activity and not share posts of “suspicious provenance”.
Nomination day for the election will be held on August 22. If more than one presidential candidate is nominated to run for the role, the city state’s citizens will go to the polls on September 1.
The authorities said in the statement that as “a highly digitally-connected nation”, Singapore must be on guard against “malicious” cyber activities, such as “disruption, defacement or data theft”. Such activities had adversely affected the confidence of voters in a number of overseas elections, they added.
In a separate statement, Singapore’s media regulator, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), said only presidential candidates and their election agents could publish paid advertisements while others must seek approval in writing if they wished to do so.
The rule prevents foreign actors from using these advertisements as a “conduit” during the campaigning period, the IMDA added.
Political parties are not allowed to endorse candidates, although all presidents in the republic since 1993 – when the non-partisan position became an elected post – have had considerable links to the ruling establishment.
