SDP election forum to be held on 20 Jan
Singapore Democrats
10 Jan 08
The SDP will hold a public forum entitled Reform of the Election
System in Singapore on 20 Jan 08, Sunday at the Allson's Hotel,
Victoria Street at 2 pm. (See here)
Most Singaporeans are aware of the myriad of controls that the
ruling party exerts over the electoral system in this country,
making the process anything but free and fair.
The lack of an independent election commission, the use of the GRC
system, the sudden changes of rules and regulations, the numbering
of the ballot slips, the impossibly short campaign period, the
gerrymandering are all problems that Singaporeans are familiar
with.
But little has been done to reform the process. This forum hopes to
kick-start a national effort to address and rectify an election
system that is politically moribund. Rather than just talk (yet
again) about the problems, this forum will focus on action that can
be taken to rectify the situation.
The speakers are:
1. J B Jeyaretnam, former sectary-general of the Workers'
Party
2. Jufrie Mahmoud, veteran oppositionist
3. Chia Ti Lik, former Workers' Party candidate and member of
SgHuman Rights
4. Tan Tarn How, researcher at the Institute of Policy Studies and
former Straits Times journalist
5. Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic
Party
The other opposition parties have been invited to speak but they
have not responded.
Reform of our election system is a matter that concerns not just
political parties but also civil society, lawyers, academics,
journalists, etc in other words, all citizens of this
country.
Your participation in this forum is vital and your input on how we
can make our elections free and fair will mean whether we continue
to live in a one-party state or reform our society to a democratic
one that values justice and the rights of Singaporeans.
http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/article_election_reform_forum1.html