Punggol East by-election: Sooner or later?
Posted on Jan 9, 2013 10:39 AMUpdated: Jan
9, 2013 10:51 AM
The appearance of a possible candidate for the PAP in Punggol East
on Tuesday night has set tongues wagging about a likely
by-election in the ward.
Combine that with the fact that activists there have already
purchased plywood for election posters and the question becomes
more about when a by-election will be held rather than if.
So when are possible dates?
There are two possibilities.
The first, which would be shocking but not impossible, is that a
poll would happen very soon. If the Prime Minister wants to get it
over and done with before Chinese New Year and the Budget, then
there are just two possible Saturdays left: Jan 26 and Feb
2.
The weekend after that is Chinese New Year weekend and many may
have left town for reunion dinners. For Polling Day to happen on
January 26, however, would require a writ of election to
be issued today.
Nomination Day can take place no sooner than 5 working days after a
writ is issued. If one is issued today, Nomination Day will be on
Jan 16, next Wednesday, and Polling Day will be 11 days later.
Some say such a quick turnaround is unlikely since voters might not
have enough time to get to know the candidate. While the PAP has
rarely called for snap elections, others say going early this time
makes sense as the so-called distraction of doing electoral battle
is done away with and the business of governing can proceed
apace.
If it is not those two dates, then it is likely to be in March when
the political calendar starts to open up. It could then take place
anywhere between March and May, before the June school holidays.
The Budget will be over and the debate over the planned White Paper
on Population would also have been wrapped up.
When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was mulling over the
by-election, he noted that Singapore’s political calendar was a
very busy one and that might point to a later date. Yet, given that
the Hougang by-election took place three months after the seat was
vacated when the Workers’ Party expelled its MP Yaw Shin Leong, PM
Lee might not want to wait too long.
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