WP urges judiciousness and caution in holding GE
The Workers' Party (WP) has urged the Government to "take caution and exercise judiciousness" in calling a general election (GE), as it noted it does not want to speculate over when the election will be called.
In a statement yesterday, the opposition party said it understands there is a lot of speculation and excitement over when the GE will be called, due to the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee's report on Friday.
"In line with past experience, the general election is usually called very soon after the report's release," said the WP.
However, the party "recognises the situation facing Singapore at present is different" and it said there are worries about the spread of Covid-19 and its impact on the economy.
"We urge the Government to take caution and exercise judiciousness in calling a GE. Whatever decision that is made must be one that is in the best interests of Singapore, our democracy and the public health of Singaporeans," WP said.
Its statement comes after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday that the date of the next GE will depend on what will best see Singapore through the major crisis posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
PM Lee noted in a Facebook post that the Covid-19 outbreak will likely persist through this year, and quite possibly longer, adding that the country has two options ahead.
The first is to hope and pray that things will stabilise before the end of the Government's term so that elections can be held under more normal circumstances.
"But we have no certainty of that," he said.
The other is to "call elections early, knowing that we are going into a hurricane, to elect a new Government with a fresh mandate and a full term ahead of it, which can work with Singaporeans on the critical tasks at hand".
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