Singaporeans vote for new government amid coronavirus pandemic

Singaporeans donning face masks and gloves voted on Friday in a general election that is expected to return the ruling party once again to power but the result could be a test for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's handling of the economy during the Covid-19 crisis.

The voting began at 8 am, with a special time-slot set aside for senior citizens aged 65 and above.

All 1,100 polling stations across the island have closed after a two-hour extension in the voting time.

Polls were initially scheduled to close at 8 pm, but following long queues at polling stations in the evening, the Elections Department (ELD) extended the voting time by two hours to 10 pm "to ensure that all voters who had turned up would be able to cast their vote".

As of 8 pm, 96 percent of registered voters - 2,565,000 people - cast their ballots in Singapore, a figure higher than the turnout in 2015, which was 2,304,331, according to the ELD.

The ELD earlier apologised to voters for the "longer than usual" queues at polling stations on Friday morning due to wearing of gloves as part of the Covid-19 precaution.

"The ELD would like to apologise to voters for the longer than usual queues that they have experienced this morning. More voters had turned up this morning than expected outside their assigned voting time-bands," it said.

The ELD later done away with the requirement to wear disposable gloves as this had contributed to longer than usual queues.

The voting time-bands from 8 am to noon were reserved for senior voters aged 65 years and above to minimise their interaction with younger voters.

Eleven political parties, including the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), campaigned for nine days amid the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19 that has pushed the city-state's economy towards the worst-ever recession in nearly two decades.

In a bid to enhance the safety of voting amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of polling stations was increased from 880 to 1,100, The Straits Times reported.

Prime Minister Lee last month called for general elections 10 months ahead of the schedule to "clear the decks" and give the new government a fresh five-year mandate to focus on the national agenda.

Lee's People’s Action Party has won every election since the late 1950s. When the party’s share of the vote dipped to about 60 percent in 2011, which was considered an upset.

The ruling party is expected to win comfortably in the election but the 68-year-old Lee's handling of the coronavirus crisis could decide the vote share this election. The main opposition Workers’ Party is likely to pose the stiffest challenge.

A total of 192 candidates from 11 parties, including the PAP, will contest parliamentary seats through 17 Group Representation Constituencies which groups together candidates in four or five, and 14 Single Member Constituencies.

While the PAP has not fielded any Indian-origin candidate in this election, the opposition parties have fielded about a dozen of them.

The ruling PAP is the only party with candidates contesting on all 93 seats. This is the second general election that the opposition has fielded candidates in all seats in Parliament.

In the last elections in September 2015, the PAP contested all 89 seats and won 83 seats, an absolute majority in the house. The Workers' Party secured six seats. Observers are watching if the Workers' Party can increase their seats this time in Parliament.

Prime Minister Lee's estranged brother Lee Hsien Yang recently joined the Progress Singapore Party, bolstering the opposition camp. However, he is not fighting the elections. The two brothers are involved in a legal tussle of their family house-property.

Lee, who is the country's third prime minister, has led the government since 2004. His father Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore's first prime minister and he transformed the city-state into an affluent nation during his 31 years rule.