VZCZCXRO3768
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGP #1141/01 3350854
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 010854Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7474
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 001141 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2019 
TAGS: PGOV SN
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE ELECTION TIPPED FOR MID-2010, WITH 
"COOLING-OFF" DAY BEFORE VOTE 
 
REF: A. SINGAPORE 164 
     ¶B. SINGAPORE 520 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel Shields for reason 1.4(d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  Though there has been no formal 
announcement, Singapore's next general election appears 
increasingly likely to take place between April and June 
¶2010.  Circumstantial evidence, such as the training of 
election workers and instructions for those workers not to 
take leave, points to that conclusion, according to 
opposition and civil service contacts.  Prime Minister Lee 
Hsien Loong said he expects revised election laws to be 
finished shortly after the annual budget, which Parliament 
normally debates in late February or early March.  In 
addition to the electoral changes described in reftel B, the 
Prime Minister announced that the new law will provide for a 
"cooling-off" period banning campaigning on the day before 
polling.  An opposition party leader told Poloff the 
cooling-off period will work to the advantage of the 
incumbent People's Action Party because the 
government-influenced local media, which will remain free to 
report on electoral matters through polling day, will have 
the last word for undecided voters.  End Summary. 
 
Circumstantial Evidence Points to Mid-2010 Election 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  (C) Singapore's next general election appears 
increasingly likely to take place between April and June 
2010, based on circumstantial evidence reported by Embassy 
contacts and a newly announced timetable for electoral 
legislation.  Opposition politician Desmond Lim, 
Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Alliance, told 
Poloff that some of his contacts in Singapore's civil service 
are receiving training as election workers.  (Note: Singapore 
draws on members of its civil service, who are barred from 
political party membership, to staff elections.  The 
Elections Department, which is under the Prime Minister's 
Office, designates and trains the election workers well in 
advance of voting day.  End note.)  According to Lim, the 
final batch of election workers will complete their training 
by April, and the designated civil servants have been 
instructed not to take leave between then and June.  This 
information corroborates a similar account given to Poloff by 
a junior civil servant in the Ministry of Home Affairs. 
 
New Election Law to Be Finished by March or April 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In a newly published interview with the Straits 
Times, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed that he 
expects a revised electoral law and accompanying 
constitutional amendments to be finished shortly after the 
annual budget, which Parliament normally debates in late 
February or early March.  The revised election law will 
implement the changes PM Lee announced in May (as described 
in reftel B) by guaranteeing a greater number of seats for 
opposition and non-partisan members with limited voting 
rights and by increasing the number of single-member 
constituencies from nine to 12.  If the government adheres to 
the announced timetable for amending the electoral framework, 
the new law could be on the books by late March or April. 
 
¶4.  (C) Once a new election law is in place, the government 
should be able to complete the remaining pre-election 
administrative steps quickly.  Because the revised law is 
expected to alter some electoral districts, the Prime 
Minister will need to convene an Electoral Boundaries Review 
Committee to determine where the new boundaries lie. 
According to Kevin Tan, a law professor and constitutional 
scholar at the National University of Singapore, past 
elections have followed the Electoral Boundaries Review 
Committee's report by as little as four weeks.  Moreover, Ms. 
Goh Jing Xian, Public Education and Training Manager in the 
Elections Department, told Poloff that once the new 
boundaries are set, the Elections Department can use the 
existing electoral registers (last revised in February, as 
described in reftel A) to assign voters to the new 
constituencies, a relatively simple process. 
 
Prime Minister Announces "Cooling-Off" Day Before Vote 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  In addition to the electoral changes PM Lee 
previewed in May, the revised electoral law will include a 
24-hour "cooling-off" period before polls open.  During this 
period, political parties will have to suspend campaigning, 
including the posting of new material on party websites.  PM 
Lee gave two reasons for the change:  to allow voters to 
 
SINGAPORE 00001141  002 OF 002 
 
 
reflect calmly on the issues and arguments before voting, and 
to minimize the risk of public disorder at the tail end of 
the campaign, "particularly if the election has been an 
emotional one."  SDA Secretary-General Desmond Lim told 
Poloff the cooling-off period will confer an advantage on the 
ruling People's Action Party (PAP) over the opposition 
parties.  First, it will blunt the emotional appeal of the 
opposition's stances on controversial issues such as 
immigration and housing policy and will give Singaporeans' 
pragmatic and risk-averse tendencies time to reassert 
themselves before the vote.  Second, the 
government-influenced mainstream local media will remain free 
to continue reporting on election-related matters up to and 
through polling day - essentially giving the PAP the last 
word in shaping the perceptions of undecided voters and 
leaving the opposition powerless to respond, Lim said. 
 
SHIELDS 
 
Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm