Singapore Democrats

Reform the election system

In the absence of genuinely free and fair elections, the act of voting becomes a treacherous impostor of democracy. In Singapore, the Elections Department is under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office. Because it conducts its business largely away from public scrutiny, many are as convinced of its impartiality as they would be the act of a ventriloquist over the radio.

The institution of an independent elections commission would be a remedy for all of this. Such a commission would take elections out of the hands of the ruling party and place them firmly in the oversight of civil society. To do this, the commission must ensure that:

• all contesting political parties’ representations are taken into account in the decisions it makes,
• its decisions are announced well in advance and submitted to parliament for approval,
• it has the power to administer the elections, including handling complaints and petitions and prosecuting violators of the PEA,
• it remains accountable to the courts.

• the dates of elections are fixed so that the ruling party enjoys no advantage in terms of implementation and preparation,
• campaigning periods be lengthened to a minimum of three weeks to give all parties adequate opportunity to address the electorate,
• contesting parties be have the right to choose the time and sites for their election rallies.

• abolish the GRC system,
• end the Nominated MP; only people elected by their fellow citizens can rightfully take their seats in parliament,
• conduct by-elections, without fail, in constituencies where representatives no longer hold office,
• remove the serial numbers on ballot slips which compromises the secrecy of the vote.

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Carin  -  abolish internal security act    Tue, 03 Jun 2008 7:58 pm Could the SDP include a proposal of protecting singapore from terrorists in SDP manifesto. Saying that SDP wants to abolish internal securtiy act is easy. but SDP would not be able to convince if SDP can't counter propose something to protect the country from terrorists. thanks. Quote 1   0

Stephan Ortmann  -  ISA does not protect from terrorism    Fri, 20 Jun 2008 5:30 am The ISA is a relic from colonial times that is more a threat to political opponents than to terrorists. The terrorist arrests only serve as a way to legitimize this arcane legislation. In order to successfully target the terrorist threat, Singapore authorities should write terrorism specific legislation, which distinguishes peaceful and legitimate opposition from violent extrimists. Under the ISA, the ISD has been established, which has, however, been less effective in the fight against terrorism as in the fight against political opponents. While the ISD successfully kept the Barisan Sosialis politician Chia Thye Poh for 23 years from leaving Sentosa, it could not prevent the escape of a potentially dangerous terrorism suspect, Mas Selamat Kastari, from prison. Quote 0   1

Carin  -     Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:14 pm Does the SDP have a better idea to counter the terrorists other than having the ISD? Think carefully and you'll realize its not ISD which caused the escape of the terrorism suspect, Mas Selamat Kastari, from prison. Instead, its the carelessless of that person in that prison, directly involved in the protection of the security of the detention centre. Quote 1   0

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