See main article: 2020 Singaporean general election. List of notable events prior to the 2020 Singaporean general election:
The following is a list of candidates contesting in the election for the first time. There are 73 new candidates.
Candidates running as independents do not have a party logo but have a different logo reflected in the party column.
| Name | Age | Occupation | Party | Contested Constituency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Company vice-chairman | Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC | ||
| 49 | Chief Strategy Officer, SW Singapore | Potong Pasir SMC | ||
| 50 | Former chief executive, People's Association | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 36 | Co-founder, Timbre Group | Holland–Bukit Timah GRC | ||
| 30 | Associate director, TSMP Law Corporation | Ang Mo Kio GRC | ||
| 33 | Lawyer and Director, MSC Law Corporation | Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC | ||
| 43 | Senior vice-president, United Overseas Bank | Chua Chu Kang GRC | ||
| 48 | Deputy chief executive, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, and director, NTUC Administration and Research Unit | Marine Parade GRC | ||
| 43 | Former group chief, Silver Generation Office at the Agency for Integrated Care | Yio Chu Kang SMC | ||
| 42 | Former IMDA chief executive and Founder, Silver Generation Office | East Coast GRC | ||
| 55 | Former managing director and chief executive officer, IHH Healthcare | Marine Parade GRC | ||
| 39 | Law firm, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson | Chua Chu Kang GRC | ||
| 48 | Former director, Ministry of Health's Office for Healthcare Transformation (community engagement) | Ang Mo Kio GRC | ||
| 51 | Head Managing Director, Group Audit at DBS Bank | Nee Soon GRC | ||
| 45 | Vice-President, Terminal 5 Planning of Changi East Development, Changi Airport Group | Sembawang GRC | ||
| 44 | Founder, Caregiver Group and Caregiver Asia | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 39 | Industrial planner and head, LinkedIn | Tanjong Pagar GRC | ||
| 42 | Senior Lecturer, Republic Polytechnic (Sports & Exercise Science at the School of Sports) | Jalan Besar GRC | ||
| 41 | Former company chairman and Commander of the 3rd SCDF Division | Tanjong Pagar GRC | ||
| 46 | Former air force brigadier-general and deputy CEO, National Trades Union Congress' Employment and Employability Institute | Marymount SMC | ||
| 47 | Chief executive, Rohei | West Coast GRC | ||
| 39 | Vice-president, Singapore Aero Engine Services (strategy and project management office) | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 41 | Lawyer and Director, Niru & Co LLC | Aljunied GRC | ||
| 54 | Managing Partner, Union Law LLP | Sengkang GRC | ||
| 43 | Managing director, Boston Consulting Group | Sembawang GRC | ||
| 38 | Director, Enterprise Development Group at Temasek Holdings | Jurong GRC | ||
| 35 | Head of healthcare redesign, Alexandra Hospital, cousin of Ong Ye Kung[1] | Jurong GRC | ||
| 38 | Founder, Daughters of Tomorrow | Nee Soon GRC | ||
| 44 | MRT train announcer[2] and Marketing director, Jingslink Marketing | Aljunied GRC | ||
| 57 | Adult educator and former SAF Lieutenant Colonel | West Coast GRC | ||
| 43 | Lawyer, Eldan Law LLP | Tanjong Pagar GRC | ||
| 49 | CEO, Apple Seed | Kebun Baru SMC | ||
| 51 | Customer service manager | Nee Soon GRC | ||
| 55 | Business director and former Senior Lieutenant-Colonel | Tanjong Pagar GRC | ||
| 42 | Author and chartered financial consultant, CHFC | Pioneer SMC | ||
| 60 | Founder, Timbre Capita | West Coast GRC | ||
| 29 | Pilot, Singapore Airlines | Tanjong Pagar GRC | ||
| 52 | Adult educator and former platoon commander | Nee Soon GRC | ||
| 51 | Chief marketing officer, APAC | West Coast GRC | ||
| 67 | Consulting engineer, Institution of Fire Engineers UK | Chua Chu Kang GRC | ||
| 56 | Associate professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy | Chua Chu Kang GRC | ||
| 23 | Undergraduate, National University of Singapore | Chua Chu Kang GRC | ||
| 60 | Director, Red Hat | Tanjong Pagar GRC | ||
| 67 | Senior trainer | Tanjong Pagar GRC | ||
| 43 | Chartered accountant | Yio Chu Kang SMC | ||
| 67 | Former SAF Lieutenant Colonel and Director, Huarui Aerosystems | Chua Chu Kang GRC | ||
| 56 | IT professional and investment specialist | Nee Soon GRC | ||
| 53 | Media consultant | Nee Soon GRC | ||
| 40 | IT project manager | Nee Soon GRC | ||
| 54 | Senior manager | Hong Kah North SMC | ||
| 54 | Director, Kopi Ong | Holland–Bukit Timah GRC | ||
| 35 | Marketing and communications professional | Holland–Bukit Timah GRC | ||
| 45 | Entrepreneur, Industrial & Services Co-Operative Society Ltd (ISCOS) | Yuhua SMC | ||
| 33 | Business Operations Specialist, Catalyse Consulting | Jurong GRC | ||
| 28 | Legal engineer, Pinsent Masons MPillay LLP | Jurong GRC | ||
| 30 | Criminal defence lawyer | Ang Mo Kio GRC | ||
| 26 | Activist and founder, Reyna Movement | Sengkang GRC | ||
| 44 | Associate professor of economics, ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific | Sengkang GRC | ||
| 33 | Equity Research Analyst, Credit Suisse | Sengkang GRC | ||
| 34 | Gig economy worker and Grab driver | Marine Parade GRC | ||
| 36 | IT professional | Marine Parade GRC | ||
| 38 | Contracts administrator | Punggol West SMC | ||
| 45 | Lawyer, Inkwell Law Corporation | Marine Parade GRC | ||
| 54 | Former researcher | East Coast GRC | ||
| 57 | Educator | Mountbatten SMC | ||
| 49 | Certifier, Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) | Jalan Besar GRC | ||
| 43 | Medical administrator and entrepreneur | Jalan Besar GRC | ||
| 66 | Blogger and financial adviser | Jalan Besar GRC | ||
| 63 | Freelance economics lecturer | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 31 | Business financial manager | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 61 | Private-hire driver | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 34 | Operation Manager | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 57 | Electrical engineer | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC | ||
| 62 | Business consultant | Pioneer SMC | ||
The following members of parliament (MPs) retired and did not seek re-election this time.
| Name | Constituency (Division) | Party | Highest attained portfolio during the 13th Parliament of Singapore | Date announced< | --PLEASE DO NOT change the name--> | Remarks< | --Constituency changes can be listed here--> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalan Besar GRC (Kolam Ayer) | Former Cabinet Minister (Communications and Information/Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Cyber Security) | --> | 23 June 2020 | ||||
| Marine Parade GRC (Marine Parade) | Emeritus Senior Minister | 25 June 2020 | Secretary-General for the party (1992–2004) & second Prime Minister (1990-2004) | ||||
| Aljunied GRC (Bedok Reservoir-Punggol) | Member of Parliament/Former Leader of the Opposition | 25 June 2020 | Secretary-General for the party (2001–18) | ||||
| Aljunied GRC (Paya Lebar) | Member of Parliament | 25 June 2020 | |||||
| Hougang SMC | Member of Parliament | 25 June 2020 | |||||
| Sembawang GRC (Sembawang) | Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport | 26 June 2020 | |||||
| Punggol East SMC | Deputy Speaker | 27 June 2020 | Chong's ward was absorbed into Sengkang GRC. | ||||
| Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC (Woodgrove) | Member of Parliament | 28 June 2020 | |||||
| Radin Mas SMC | Minister of State (Foreign Affairs/Social and Family Development) | 29 June 2020 | |||||
| Tanjong Pagar GRC (Queenstown) | Member of Parliament | 29 June 2020 | |||||
| Jalan Besar GRC (Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng) | Member of Parliament | 29 June 2020 | |||||
| Nee Soon GRC (Nee Soon South) | Member of Parliament | 29 June 2020 | |||||
| Marine Parade GRC (Geylang Serai) | Member of Parliament | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (Pasir Ris East) | Member of Parliament | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| West Coast GRC (Telok Blangah) | Former Cabinet Minister (Trade and Industry) | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| East Coast GRC (Kampong Chai Chee) | Member of Parliament | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| East Coast GRC (Bedok) | Former Cabinet Minister (Manpower) | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| Bukit Panjang SMC | Mayor (North West CDC) | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (Sengkang Central) | Former Mayor (North East CDC) and Minister of State (Manpower/Trade & Industry) | 30 June 2020 | Teo's ward was absorbed into Sengkang GRC. | ||||
| Pioneer SMC | Member of Parliament | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| Ang Mo Kio GRC (Jalan Kayu) | Member of Parliament | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| Ang Mo Kio GRC (Cheng San-Seletar) | Member of Parliament | 30 June 2020 | |||||
| Chua Chu Kang GRC (Nanyang) | Member of Parliament | 30 June 2020 | Portions of Yee's ward are absorbed into neighboring Hong Kah North SMC and West Coast GRC. |
The following is a list of events that occurred prior to Nomination Day on 30 June 2020. All times are reflected in Singapore Standard Time (SGT).
| Date | Party | Events | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 March | The Registers of Electors revised eligible candidates with a cut-off date of 1 March. The certification was enacted on 15 April. | [3] | |
| 13 March | The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee published a report on new electoral boundaries. | [4] | |
| 21 April | WP announced that NCMP Daniel Goh will be stepping down from its central executive committee (CEC) for health reasons, and not be running in the next General Election. | [5] | |
| 30 April | Aljunied GRC incumbent Low Thia Khiang was warded to the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital's ICU ward following a head injury, and the party informed on the hospitalization three days later on 3 May. Low was transferred to a general ward on 4 May, and eventually discharged on 21 May. | [6] [7] | |
| 13 June | PSP announced that it will contest with 29 candidates at the election as opposed to 44 earlier, coming after talks with other opposition parties. It also announced that the West Coast GRC candidates are almost confirmed. | [8] | |
| 15 June | RP unveiled a batch of seven candidates: Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Andy Zhu, Noraini Yunus and Darren Soh, as well as first-time candidates Charles Yeo, Mahaboob Batcha and Gurdev Singh. | [9] | |
| 18 June | The Elections Department Singapore released preliminary campaigning guidelines pertaining to campaigning and social distancing amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, just a day before Singapore enters the second phase of reopening. | [10] | |
| PSP unveiled its first batch of six candidates: Francis Yuen Khin Pheng, Muhammad Taufik Supan, Sri Nallakaruppan, Brad Bowyer, Gigene Wong and Hazel Poa. | [11] [12] | ||
| 20 June | SPP unveiled its candidates for two constituencies:
| [13] | |
| 21 June | SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan announced his candidacy for Bukit Batok SMC, which he had previously contested in the 2016 by-election. | [14] | |
| 23 June | At 4 pm, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong held a televised announcement highlighting future challenges facing Singapore and the relative stability of the COVID-19 situation, then announced the dissolution of the 13th Parliament of Singapore; President Halimah Yacob dissolved the parliament and the writ of election is published. Returning officer Tan Meng Dui adjourned nominations to be held 30 June, and Singapore would go to the polls on 10 July. | ||
| Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Member of Parliament of Jalan Besar GRC, announced his retirement. | [15] | ||
| PSP leader Tan Cheng Bock announced plans to contest eight constituencies: West Coast GRC, Choa Chu Kang GRC, Tanjong Pagar GRC, Hong Kah North, Marymount, Pioneer, Yio Chu Kang, and Kebun Baru, as well as trim the list to 24 candidates. The party's also unveiled a second batch of candidates: Tan Meng Wah, Kayla Low, A’bas Bin Kasmani, Choo Shaun Ming, Harish Pillay and Ang Yong Guan. | [16] [17] | ||
| WP released a video with a slogan, "Make Your Vote Count", featuring 12 faces of the party, including leader Pritam Singh, chairperson Sylvia Lim, NCMP Dennis Tan, former Punggol East SMC MP Lee Li Lian and former NSP member Nicole Seah. | [18] | ||
| RDU unveiled the first three candidates: Ravi Philemon, Michelle Lee Juan, and Liyana Dhamirah. They also announced that they will be fielded only in Jurong GRC, and were prepared to pass the contest to PV to avoid a possible multi-cornered contest. | [19] | ||
| PPP secretary-general Goh Meng Seng announced that the party will be contesting MacPherson SMC and Radin Mas SMC. | [20] | ||
| 24 June | RP leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam announced they will withdraw from West Coast GRC to facilitate opposition unity even though the team had contested there in 2015, avoiding a potential three-cornered fight with the PAP and PSP. It will now only contest in Radin Mas SMC, Yio Chu Kang SMC and Ang Mo Kio GRC, allowing a three-cornered contest for Yio Chu Kang. | [21] | |
| PSP unveiled Lee Hsien Yang, younger brother of Lee Hsien Loong and also the younger son of Lee Kuan Yew, as a party member. The younger Lee is considering contesting the election. | [22] [23] | ||
PAP announced that there will be 26 new candidates this election which will be unveiled over the next few days, but declined to reveal where the candidates would be standing. The first two groups of four new candidates were announced as:
| [24] [25] | ||
| PV chief Lim Tean announced that the party will be contesting Punggol West SMC and Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC, anticipating a three-cornered contest for the latter. | [26] [27] | ||
| SDP announced that the party will be contesting Holland–Bukit Timah GRC, Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC, Bukit Panjang SMC and Yuhua SMC. | [28] | ||
| NSP secretary-general Spencer Ng announced that the party will be contesting Tampines GRC and Sembawang GRC and withdrawing from Pioneer SMC to back PSP. | [29] | ||
| RDU unveiled its fourth candidate for Jurong GRC: Nicholas Tang Jian Ye | [30] | ||
| 25 June | PV announced its intention to contest Jalan Besar GRC, Mountbatten SMC, Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC, Pioneer SMC and Punggol West SMC. | [31] | |
PAP unveiled three more batches of new candidates, respectively introduced by Heng, Masagos Zulkifli and Grace Fu:
Emeritus Senior Minister and Marine Parade GRC MP Goh Chok Tong, announced his retirement after serving Marine Parade for 44 years. | [32] [33] [34] [35] | ||
| Perennial candidate Ooi Boon Ewe picked up nomination forms and revealed that he will be standing at Bukit Panjang SMC; if nominated, this would be Ooi's second election since 2001 after unsuccessful nominations in the interim elections, and also the second consecutive election with independent candidates standing. | [36] | ||
| WP announced its intention to contest East Coast GRC, Marine Parade GRC, Sengkang GRC and Punggol West SMC, while defending its current seats in Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC to be helmed by former NCMPs Gerald Giam and Dennis Tan, respectively. The party also introduced two first-time candidates: Muhammad Azhar Abdul Latip and Louis Chua Kheng Wee as well as two previously-contested candidates Nicole Seah (who contested with NSP in 2011) and Yee Jenn Jong (also a former NCMP). Incumbent MPs Low Thia Khiang, Chen Show Mao and Png Eng Huat will step down as MPs and not contest in the election. | [37] [38] | ||
| Tan Jee Say dissolved Singaporeans First and encouraged its former members to join other opposition parties. | [39] | ||
| PPP secretary-general Goh Meng Seng announced his candidacy in MacPherson SMC against PAP incumbent Tin Pei Ling, while also withdrawing their interest in contesting Radin Mas SMC and backed RP. | [40] | ||
| PSP unveiled a batch of five candidates including a former SAF colonel, a former senior lieutenant-colonel and a lawyer: Nadarajah Loganathan, Wendy Low, Kumaran Pillai, Damien Tay Chye Seng and Michael Chua Teck Leong. | [41] | ||
| RP secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam was required to serve a mandatory 14-day stay-home notice at a designated stay-home-notice facility after a visit to the United Kingdom, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Health and the ELD. Jeyaretnam requested for a waiver, but MOH declined his request. | [42] | ||
| SDP held an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit, where Reddit users were able to ask the SDP questions about its views pertaining to the upcoming election. | [43] | ||
| 26 June | PAP vice-chairman Masagos Zulkifli and Chan Chun Sing unveiled its final batch of new candidates at separate sessions, including the first woman brigadier-general:
Transport Minister and Sembawang GRC MP Khaw Boon Wan announced his retirement. | [44] [45] [46] | |
| RDU announced its final candidate for Jurong GRC, ex-SDP candidate Alec Tok Kim Yam, thus completing the five-member lineup that earlier include Ravi Philemon, Michelle Lee Juan, Liyana Dhamirah and Nicholas Tang Jian Ye. | [47] [48] | ||
| PSP unveiled its final batch of six new candidates: Lim Cher Hong, Kala Manickam, Leong Mun Wai, Terence Soon Jun Wei, Abdul Rahman Mohamad and Jeffrey Khoo Poh Tiong. Later in the day, the party indicated that they will be contesting in Nee Soon GRC in addition to the initial eight constituencies it was planning to contest in, along with the full lineup for each of them. Lee Hsien Yang is not listed among the candidates for now. | [49] [50] [51] [52] | ||
WP chairman Sylvia Lim unveiled two first-time candidates: Raeesah Begum Farid Khan and Jamus Jerome Lim Chee Wui, and three previously-contested candidates Dennis Tan Lip Fong, Dylan Ng Foo Eng, and Ron Tan Jun Yen. The party also announced the candidates that they would stand to defend their constituencies, while the other four constituencies will be revealed later only after nomination day:
| [53] [54] | ||
| RP chairman Andy Zhu accused PSP of reneging on an agreement to not contest Yio Chu Kang SMC in return for RP withdrawing from West Coast GRC. PSP assistant secretary-general Leong Mun Wai later denied that a deal had been reached and "apologised for any misunderstandings", though it did not make any further concessions. | [55] | ||
| 27 June | ELD announced that they had received 226 applications for the Political Donation Certificate, 37 applications for the Certificate of The Malay Community Committee and 35 applications for the Certificate of The Indian and Other Minority Communities Committee. | [56] | |
| PAP released its manifesto for the upcoming election, as well as its slogan: "Our Lives, Our Jobs, Our Future". The party's secretary-general Lee cited that in a normal election, the party would have focused on long-term plans for the nation; however, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, their manifesto would instead be about "overcome(ing) this crisis of a generation". PAP also announced that 20 MPs had confirmed their political retirement, among which was deputy speaker and Punggol East SMC MP Charles Chong.PAP's candidate Ivan Lim Shaw Chuan was criticized online as "lacking compassion, and being arrogant and elitist", but Lim later rebutted the criticism saying that "people can have different perspectives of the same incident" and said on an interview that he was "determined to stay the course". Nevertheless, he withdrew from the nomination later that night, with the party accepting his decision. | [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] | ||
| After SDP pointed out how the PAP had already erected its flags in Marine Parade GRC, ELD clarified that the rules pertaining to the display of posters and banners during election period did not apply because Nomination Day had not yet passed. A volunteer from the PAP branch office of Marine Parade claimed that the flags were put up "as part of National Day celebrations", and that the erection of its flags had been done annually "for the past 20 to 30 years". | [62] | ||
| PSP expressed concerns over the requirement to submit its scripts in advance to the Infocomm Media Development Authority and Mediacorp for the preparation of subtitles for political broadcasts on TV; organising secretary Michael Chua Teck Leong said that the submission of scripts at least 48 hours in advance was "disturbing" and was worried that its scripts could be leaked.PSP member Lee Hsien Yang responded to the controversy surrounding PAP candidate Ivan Lim Shaw Chuan, saying that it raised questions about the PAP's candidate screening process, and commented on how the PAP was not prepared for the controversy. | [63] [64] | ||
| RP released its manifesto for the election with the slogan: "Build Back Better, Fairer", citing the goals of overcoming obstacles during the pandemic. | [65] [66] | ||
| SDA chairman Desmond Lim announced his decision to step down after the election, and would relinquish his post to SDA's chief media officer Harminder Pal Singh. | [67] | ||
| WP secretary-general Pritam Singh and chairman Sylvia Lim introduced five new candidates: three first-timers Nathaniel Koh Kim Kui, Tan Chen Chen and Muhammad Fadli Mohammed Fawzi, and Kenneth Foo Seck Guan and Terence Tan Li Chern, whom had previously contested in Nee Soon GRC and Marine Parade GRC respectively. Singh also urged for a greater opposition presence in parliament, saying that the PAP would still retain a strong mandate as it would be contesting in every (93) seat, compared to the WP contesting 21. | [68] [69] | ||
| PPP released its manifesto for the election, and secretary-general Goh Meng Seng announced that this will be his final involvement in a general election. He reiterated his belief that he could contribute more to Parliament as an opposition member if elected, compared to his counterpart Tin Pei Ling from the ruling PAP, though he acknowledged her contributions to MacPherson. | [70] | ||
| DPP announced that they will not be participating in the general election and backed its informal alliance with RP and PPP. | [71] | ||
| NSP confirmed that they will not be contesting in MacPherson SMC and backed PPP. | [72] | ||
| Three members of PV were approached by the police around Pasir Ris MRT station (within Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC) while they were doing community outreach after they were seen carrying a placard with photos of PAP MPs sleeping in Parliament on the placard. PV secretary-general Lim Tean claimed that this incident was the "sort of harassment that opposition members find themselves under all the time"; a police spokesman later said that PV's actions "amounted to a public demonstration, which requires a police permit." | [73] [74] | ||
| 28 June | ELD announced that they had issued 226 Political Donation Certificates (out of 226 applications), 37 Certificates of The Malay Community Committee (out of 37 applications) and 34 Certificates of The Indian and Other Minority Communities Committee (out of 35 applications). | [75] | |
PAP unveiled the candidates for three electoral divisions:
PAP's candidate Shawn Huang Wei Zhong was criticised online about his tenure as a NDP commander in 2018 by a Warrant Officer in charge of the NDP logistics control group then. Huang would rebut the allegation raised. He also explained the history of the change of his surname from Ingkiriwang to Huang. | [76] [77] [78] [79] | ||
| WP released its 39-page manifesto for the upcoming election, of which eight pages were devoted to the COVID-19 pandemic. WP secretary-general Pritam Singh and chairman Sylvia Lim introduced a final batch of four candidates, among which were new candidate Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim, former NCMPs and Aljunied GRC candidates Leon Perera and Gerald Giam (both previously contested in East Coast GRC) and He Ting Ru (previously contested in Marine Parade GRC). Singh further explained WP's slogan "Make Your Vote Count", in that WP MPs must be voted into Parliament to serve the public in Parliament and strengthen democracy, adding that there was a "real risk" of a wipeout of elected opposition MPs. Giam, He and Perera, the party's manifesto team, listed and explained the proposals that the party was planning to put forward. Meanwhile, Lee Li Lian announced that she will not seek candidacy this election. | [80] [81] [82] | ||
| SPP launched their manifesto for the election, titled "A Better Tomorrow", which highlights current issues, ranging from the cost of living and climate change to promoting greater democracy, among others. | [83] [84] [85] | ||
| RDU released a 12-page charter during a Zoom teleconference; Ravi Philemon mentioned the charter is to give Singaporeans a choice that "allowing Singaporeans to point the Government towards the directions they would want the Government to take", while Michelle Lee Juan urged to give Singaporeans leverage so that "they alone can continue to operate Singapore (the way) they wish to." | [86] [87] | ||
| Independent candidate Victor Ronnie Lai announced that he is planning to contest in Pioneer SMC; if nominated, Pioneer SMC could see a rare four-cornered contest for the first time since the 1997 general election (for Chua Chu Kang SMC) and the 2013 by-election. | [88] | ||
| 29 June | ELD announced that applications for vehicles with loudspeakers installed will open after 2 pm during nomination day, though only pre-recorded campaigning messages are allowed for broadcast. They also announced arrangements for overseas voters which embassies are allowed to be open subject to the approval of the authorities, and returning Singaporeans will cast their votes in designated hotels whilst serving a mandatory 14-day stay home notice. ELD will announce further changes after the nomination. | [89] [90] [91] [92] | |
PAP unveiled the candidates for six electoral divisions:
Nee Soon GRC backbencher Er Lee Bee Wah confirms her retirement and will be replaced by Carrie Tan Huimin. The PAP lineup for the constituency was yet to be announced at the time. | [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] [98] [99] [100] [101] | ||
| In response to WP secretary-general Pritam Singh's earlier point that there could be a wipeout of elected opposition MPs, PAP secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong said that the possibility was an unrealistic outcome, claiming that Singh's argument was "a tactic" and added that he was "using reverse psychology". Two other PAP incumbent candidates, Chan Chun Sing and Indranee Rajah, also responded to Singh's point, saying that it would be a mistake for voters to think that the PAP would return to power effortlessly, while adding that it was important for the PAP to get a "clear and strong endorsement" from the people. | [102] [103] | ||
| On their Facebook page, SDP first unveiled two new candidates that it will be fielding for the election, Alfred Tan and Min Cheong; hours later, they unveiled another three candidates, first-timer Robin Low, James Gomez and ex-DPP leader Benjamin Pwee. | [104] [105] [106] | ||
| Former SF secretary-general Tan Jee Say announced that he sought approval to rejoin SDP; if the party accepts his return, Tan will return to SDP for the first time since 2011, when he resigned from the party to seek candidacy for the presidential election held that year. | [107] | ||
| PSP released its 13-page manifesto which focused on economical, social and political development, as well as its "resurgence strategy" to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. PSP also launched its slogan for the election, entitled "You Deserve Better". PSP member Lee Hsien Yang urged Singaporeans to vote to end the PAP's supermajority and allow for greater diversity in Parliament, claiming that the Singapore government was suffering from "eunuch's disease" and adding that the PAP supermajority has led to group-thinking but lack rigour in discussion and debate on policies. | [108] [109] [110] [111] | ||
| SDA released its manifesto for the upcoming election, entitled "SDA: A Heart for the People", which sought to tackle areas where SDA felt Singaporeans were struggling with, such as the cost of living, social inequality and immigration, among other issues. | [112] |
The following is a list of events that occurred from nomination day (30 June 2020) until the eve of polling day on 10 July 2020.[113] All times below are reflected in Singapore Standard Time (SGT). Similar to previous elections since 2011, candidates begin campaigning from the end of nominations day until two days before polling day. The eve of polling day and after the last day for the campaigning period is cooling-off day, during this time in which campaigning is prohibited except for party political broadcasts.
| Date | Party | Events | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June | Nominations were held from 11 am for an hour at nine designated schools. At the close of nominations, the Elections Department confirmed a combined 192 candidates representing from 11 parties and one independent (up from 179 in the last general election) contesting all of the 31 constituencies and 93 parliamentary seats. This makes it the second constitutive election with an all-contest and no uncontested walkovers. | |||
| Three independent candidates, Ooi Boon Ewe, Shirwin Eu and Cheng Peng Wah were seen in Methodist Girls' School, Kong Hwa School and Jurong Pioneer Junior College respectively; of the three, Cheng was the sole independent candidate to have his nomination papers confirmed for Pioneer SMC. | [114] [115] [116] | |||
PAP confirmed their teams for the remaining electoral divisions:
| [117] [118] [119] [120] | |||
| WP confirmed its team lineup for four electoral divisions:
Ron Tan Jun Yuen, former NCMP Yee Jenn Jong, and three debut candidates Nathaniel Koh, and Fadli Fawzi and Muhammad Azhar Abdul Latip. Tan Chen Chen He Ting Ru, Louis Chua, Jamus Lim and Raeesah Khan Kenneth Foo Seck Guan, Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim, Terence Tan, Dylan Ng, former NSP candidate Nicole Seah | ||||
Tan Jee Say was confirmed to have returned to SDP, and he would lead a team to contest Holland–Bukit Timah GRC alongside James Gomez, Min Cheong and Alfred Tan. Alongside the electoral divisions confirmed were:
| ||||
| Following the confirmation of nominations for Bukit Batok SMC, incumbent PAP candidate Murali Pillai became the fourth PAP candidate to receive online criticism, this time from a post about his son. In response, Murali hit back, calling the post containing the criticism a "scurrilous attack against my family", adding that the timing of the post "leaves nothing to the imagination". His opponent, Dr Chee Soon Juan from SDP, said that he stood with Murali as well and criticised the post, writing that "politics is about ideas on how we can make our nation better, not personal attacks like this." | [121] [122] | |||
| It was revealed that Lee Hsien Yang would not be contesting in the election only after nominations had closed. PSP secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock later said that he wanted Lee to remain "as neutral as possible"; Lee also said that he decided against contesting in the election as he believed that "Singapore does not need another Lee." | ||||
| During nomination day, while opposing parties were allowed to scrutinise nomination papers, both teams fielded by PAP and PSP respectively to contest Tanjong Pagar GRC found discrepancies in the opposing team's paperwork; however neither team objected to the opposing team, allowing the contest to go ahead. PAP's team saw a technical lapse in the PSP team's nomination paper (by not filling in the name of the constituency they were going to contest in); PAP later informed PSP of their technical lapse. PAP anchor minister Chan Chun Sing told the media that they wanted the voters "the chance to give us a strong mandate", and "not give that choice to residents just because of a technical error". Similarly, the PSP team spotted a potential error in the PAP team's nomination forms as well, with PSP candidate Michael Chua Teck Leong pointing out that PAP candidate Eric Chua Swee Leong had listed his occupation incorrectly. | [123] [124] [125] | |||
| PV confirmed its team lineup for two electoral divisions using its Facebook page:
Jireh Lim, Prabu Ramachandran, Mohamed Nassir Ismail, Goh Keow Wah, and Vigneswari Ramachandran Lim Tean, Leong Sze Hian, Nor Azlan Sulaiman, Michael Fang Amin. | [126] | |||
| NSP released its manifesto for the upcoming election, focusing on halting the GST hike and policy changes to the Central Provident Fund, among other areas such as public transport and defence expenditure. | [127] [128] | |||
| 1 July | The National Population and Talent Division of the Prime Minister's Office issued statements objecting to the claim that there would be a plan for a population of 10 million in Singapore, which was talked about by both SDP and PV in previous days. | [129] [130] [131] | ||
| Two political debates were held live within the Mediacorp Campus on Channel 5, CNA and Channel 8. Workers' Party did not participate in the Chinese-language debate, for which WP later apologised the following day; WP secretary-general Pritam Singh explained that "the proficiency required to participate in a live debate is of a higher order", but the WP would continue to support the party's Chinese supporters. During the English-language debate, SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan touched on one of its campaign promises of saying no to a 10 million population in Singapore, citing a 2019 article from The Straits Times, to which PAP representative Vivian Balakrishnan replied that the Prime Minister's Office had issued a statement that day "advising people like you not to indulge in falsehoods" and denied that there would be a population of 10 million in Singapore, adding that the figure was a "strawman". | [132] [133] [134] [135] [136] [137] [138] [139] [140] | |||
| PAP incumbent candidate and Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, who is defending his seat at Nee Soon GRC, claimed that the PSP team contesting Nee Soon GRC was a "half-hearted" attempt, adding that PSP had been "offering to trade Nee Soon for some other constituency" with RP. In response to Shanmugam's claim, PSP candidate Bradley Bowyer said that it was a "rumour" that PSP had offered to cede Nee Soon GRC, adding that PAP's attempt "to delegitimise us is the current strategy". Later on, in a Facebook post, Shanmugam said that Bowyer was being "dishonest" to deny that PSP had offered to trade Nee Soon to the RP, to which PSP candidate Leong Mun Wai responded that PSP had always been committed to Nee Soon GRC, while PSP secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock said that contesting Nee Soon GRC was "non-negotiable". Separately, both the PSP and PAP also lodged police reports over finding their election posters damaged, which is illegal according to the Parliamentary Elections Act. | [141] [142] [143] [144] [145] [146] [147] [148] [149] [150] | |||
| Independent candidate Cheang Peng Wah revealed that he would be using a horse as his symbol to contest the upcoming election while on a walkabout around Pioneer SMC. | [151] | |||
| NSP unveiled their team lineup for all electoral divisions:
Ivan Yeo Tiong Boon, Sathin S/O Ravindran, Sebastian Teo Kway Huang, Spencer Ng Chung Hon, and Yadzeth Hairis Choong Hon Heng, Eugene Yeo Ren-Yuan, Reno Fong Chin Leong, Ridzwan Mohammad, and Vincent Ng | [152] | |||
| 2 July | Several opposition parties had discussions on their plans if they were to be offered a place in parliament as a Non-constituency Member of Parliament. PSP secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock told on media that he would not accept an NCMP seat if offered one, calling the scheme as a ploy not to vote for the opposition, and cited that voting in candidates function as a base to serve efficiency in the House. Likewise, WP secretary-general Pritam Singh questioned the scheme as being a "magnanimity", and replied that it was "very speculative" and told that they would be addressed after the election, while in another interview, NCMP Dennis Tan replied it as a "poisoned chalice". | [153] [154] [155] [156] | ||
| PV and its secretary-general Lim Tean were issued correction directions by the alternate authority of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act Office over Singapore's government expenditure on foreign students. | [157] [158] | |||
| PV and SDA both blamed each other over who had caused the three-cornered fight in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (the first such fight in a GRC since 1992). | [159] | |||
| PAP candidate and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung posted a video on Facebook that showed him having a conversation with a young boy. However, after the authorities informed the PAP that the video was not in line with electoral rules, the video was later taken down. | [160] [161] | |||
| WP pushed back against PAP candidate Vivian Balakrishnan's claim that WP was just a "lite version" of the PAP made during the English political debate the previous day. WP secretary-general Pritam Singh said that Vivian's comments were an "electoral ploy", adding that "If that was the case, I hope the PAP takes up all our manifesto points and introduces them into their agenda." Pritam also questioned the PAP's "magnanimity" in highlighting the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament scheme. | [162] [163] [164] | |||
| PAP candidate and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat denied saying that Singapore should plan to increase its population to 10 million people, in response to SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan's speech in the English-language political debate the previous day. He reiterated the Singapore government's stance that it had "never proposed or targeted for Singapore to increase the population to 10 million". PAP candidate Vivian Balakrishnan also called for the SDP to clarify its claim. Nevertheless, the SDP later claimed victory for pressuring the PAP into declaring that it did not have a population target of 10 million, to which a PAP spokesman denounced as a "falsehood" which "renders the campaign pointless, and calls into question the integrity of the whole party". | [165] [166] [167] [168] [169] [170] [171] [172] [173] | |||
| Both PSP and PAP were asked by ELD on request by the West Coast Town Council in West Coast GRC to remove some of their election posters in Clementi; West Coast Town Council cited public safety reasons as their justification behind removing the posters. | [174] [175] | |||
| RP released a green manifesto that calls for a reduction of emissions to 40 per cent by 2030, with the aim of close to net zero emissions by 2050. | [176] | |||
| 3 July | | The dispute between the PAP and the SDP continued, with SDP chairman Paul Tambyah and secretary-general Chee Soon Juan defending SDP's decision to press the PAP about plans for a population target of 10 million for Singapore, saying that PAP was now forced to clarify and assure Singaporeans that there are no such plans. Paul pointed out that PAP could have clarified the matter earlier but did not do so, adding that he was "baffled" that the PAP called the target a "falsehood" perpetuated by the SDP. Both WP and PSP also reacted to the dispute; WP secretary-general Pritam Singh said that there was "room for fair comment" as it was not clear if SDP's stance could be considered a "falsehood" or not; however he did not endorse either side and said that it was a matter that WP was not involved in. Separately, PSP secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock said that the issue came about due to a lack of transparency from the Singapore government. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat claimed that the SDP had "erected a bogeyman" and said that he was expecting integrity and honesty from all candidates contesting in the election, to which Tambyah said that the PAP "should take up any unhappiness it may have over the claim with The Straits Times", adding that Singaporeans should read the article concerned to make their own judgements. PAP later issued a statement, saying that it was "disappointed but not surprised" at SDP's response, and claimed that "the SDP have dug their heels in, repeated their falsehoods and refused to apologise to Singaporeans for misleading them" and that "Dr Chee has not changed, cannot change and will never change". | [177] [178] [179] [180] [181] [182] | |
| 4 July | In a joint statement by ICA and ELD, 101 Singaporeans would not be able to vote in this general election due to a glitch in the ICA system that processes the local contact address submitted by overseas Singaporeans for the purposes of voting. | [183] [184] [185] | ||
| SDP chairman Paul Tambyah and secretary-general Chee Soon Juan responded to PAP's statement issued the previous day; Tambyah said that PAP's comments were "a sign of desperation" and that it showed that PAP had "run out of ideas" and "resorted to the old PAP tactics of just politics of personal destruction", while Chee said PAP was "beating a dead horse". Nevertheless, the two SDP leaders said that it was time for the election campaign to move on from the dispute. In addition, the Association of Women for Action and Research criticised PAP's statement to SDP the previous day as PAP had used an analogy involving spousal abuse to make a point. | [186] [187] [188] [189] | |||
| Both SDP and PV's Facebook pages, as well as several other Facebook pages belonging to others, were issued correction directions by the alternate authority of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act Office over the claim of plans for a population target of 10 million for Singapore. | [190] [191] | |||
| 5 July | Two separate police reports were lodged against Sengkang GRC WP's candidate Raeesah Khan for allegedly making two online comments, both relating to the discrimination of race and religion; one police report was lodged on 4 July against her Facebook post on 17 May 2020, which had criticised the Singapore law enforcement authorities for discriminating against Singapore citizens and said that rich Chinese and white people were treated differently under the law, and another police report on 5 July for her Facebook post on 2 February 2018 that focused on the 2018 City Harvest Church ruling. WP later came out to support Raeesah; Raeesah also apologised and released a statement stating that her intention was "never to cause social divisions but to raise awareness on minority issues", adding that she also regretted making her "insensitive" comments. Since the incident, many netizens labelled her actions as a political move by other parties and many residents criticises her while being investigated, with hashtags such as #IStandWithRaeesah were trending on Twitter. A Change.org petition was made on 6 July to let Raeesah campaign smoothly while conduct investigations only after the elections, which has since garnered over 18,500 signatures. On 7 July, the police revealed that they’re investigating the man who allegedly reported Raeesah over social media comments intended to wound religious and racial feelings. | [192] [193] [194] [195] [196] [197] [198] [199] [200] [201] [202] | ||
| Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC candidate Hany Soh Hui Bin fractured her left foot during a house visit in Woodgrove. She uploaded photos of herself bounded in a wheelchair and another photo of her left foot in a cast, and told media that she was determined to see as much residents as possible in other ways possible while having to reduce house visits in about four weeks.At 21:56, a netizen had lodged a police report against Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung for possibly abetting a primary school child to take part in election activities.This was presumably in relation to a three-minute video posted on Ong's Facebook page where Ong was having a dialogue with a young boy from Sembawang, the constituency he is contesting in. After he was informed the video violates election rules, Ong immediately took the video down, apologising for any inconvenience caused. Following the report against Ong, an anonymous police report was lodged against Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat at 22:58 for his forum speech at the Nanyang Technological University on 28 March 2019, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds or religion or race and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, and the user cited its purpose is to be socially divisive and says he feels unsafe in Singapore as someone, including the succeeding prime minister, that came from a minority race, including references from Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. PAP has yet to release a statement. | [203] | |||
| 6 July | The ELD made an announcement to advise candidates and parties to refrain shouting or drawing crowd unnecessarily as a COVID-19 safe distancing measure after a recent increase of imported and community cases over recent days and also the campaigning for West Coast GRC the previous day. | [209] [210] [211] | ||
| A netizen lodged a report against the People's Action Party's press statement, claiming that the PAP statement had promoted "enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race under section 298A of the penal code". In a statement on 8 July, the police have deemed that no offence has been committed by the PAP, after police reports were made against the party for its statement in regard to WP's candidate Raeesah Khan. | [212] | |||
| 7 July | The Singapore Police Force, after consulting with the Attorney-General's Chambers, has released a statement that "Mr Heng's remarks, in the context they were made, do not evidence any intent to wound anyone's racial feelings or promote enmity between different races,". Since news broke of the statement released by the police, netizens have spoken out about how they felt it was a racist statement. | [213] |
In this election, e-rallies served as replacements to physical rallies, which were unavailable due to precautionary measures from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The contesting parties have taken to various social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram,[214] [215] [216] [217] as well as media outlets like Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Media Group to deliver speeches, hold discussions and engage with voters.[218] [219] On 30 June, the ELD announced that ten different venues in Suntec Convention Centre would be made available daily for campaigning and live-streaming online rallies; applications to reserve one of the venues opened on Nomination Day after nominations had closed.[220] [221]
Debates were live telecast on 1 July 2020. Two round table debates each airing for an hour were held with a moderator on the current issues in Singapore, broadcast in English at 8 pm on Channel 5 and CNA938, and at 9 pm in Chinese on Channel 8 and Capital 95.8FM. A rerun of the English broadcast was broadcast at 9 pm on CNA.[132] [133] [134] The candidates that participated in the debate were:
| 2020 Singaporean general election debates | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date & Time | Broadcaster | Language | Moderator | Participants | ||||
| Key: | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 July 8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. | Mediacorp Channel 5 CNA938 | English | Jaime Ho | ||||
| 2 | 1 July 9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. | Mediacorp Channel 8 Capital 95.8FM | Mandarin | Tung Soo Hua | ||||
Similar to previous elections since 1980, parties who field at least six candidates for the election are eligible for participating in the party broadcast, with the allocated time depending on the number of participating candidates. The order of appearance is based on the number of candidates starting from the lowest.[222] [223]
| Time allocated for political broadcast | |||||||
| Time allocated (minutes) | Colspan=7 | Participating parties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | NSP | PSP | PV | RP | SDP | WP | |
| 13 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2.5 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Language | Time | Channels aired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 8pm | Channel 5, CNA938, CLASS 95, GOLD 905, cna.Asia, CNA YouTube, CNA Facebook, TODAY | |
| 9pm | CNA | ||
| Chinese | 8pm | Channel 8, Capital 958, 8world.com | |
| 11.45 pm | Channel U (11.30 pm for second broadcast) | ||
| Malay | 8.30 pm | Suria, Warna 942 (8.35 pm) | |
| Tamil | 9pm | Vasantham, Oli 968 |
| Language | Colspan=7 | Participating parties (in order of appearance) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RP | NSP | PV | SDP | WP | PSP | PAP | |
| English | Charles Yeo | Spencer Ng | Michael Fang Amin | Heng Swee Keat | |||
| Chinese | Darren Soh | Michael Fang Amin | Khung Wai Yeen | Chan Chun Sing | |||
| Malay | Noraini Yunus | Nassir Ismail | Damanhuri Abas | Taufik Supan | Maliki Osman | ||
| Tamil | Vigneswari Ramachandran | Kala Manickam | S Iswaran | ||||
| Language | Participating parties (in order of appearance) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RP | NSP | PV | SDP | WP | PSP | PAP | |
| English | Spencer Ng | ||||||
| Chinese | Darren Soh | Spencer Ng | Michael Fang Amin | Bryan Lim | Tan Meng Wah | Lee Hsien Loong | |
| Malay | Noraini Yunus | Ridzwan Mohammad | Nor Azlan Sulaiman | Damanhuri Abas | Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim | A’bas Bin Kasmani | Masagos Zulkifli |
| Tamil | Sivakumaran Chellappa | Kumaran Pillai | K Shanmugam | ||||
Note: Jeyaretnam recorded his speech in a hotel instead of at the studio while he was still serving his mandatory 14-day Stay Home Notice.
In a historic first for elections, a new Constituency Political broadcast will be held between 3 and 8 July on 7 pm every evening during the campaigning period.[224] The allotted time for broadcast is three-minutes per candidate. The broadcasts are pre-recorded. The order of appearance begin with incumbent parties followed by opposing parties, and constituencies are ordered based on alphabetical order, with one GRC or two SMCs in one segment.
| Date | Participating constituencies (in order of appearance) | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 July |
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| 4 July |
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| 5 July |
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| 6 July |
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| 7 July |
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| 8 July |
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