Singapore Democrats
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:
- J B Jeyaretnam, former sectary-general of the Workers’ Party
- Jufrie Mahmoud, veteran oppositionist
- Chia Ti Lik, former Workers’ Party candidate and member of SgHuman Rights
- Tan Tarn How, researcher at the Institute of Policy Studies and former Straits Times journalist
- 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.