A person cleans an almost empty restaurant on the first day of “circuit breaker” measures to curb the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) at Boat Quay in The Central business district area in Singapore, April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
April 7, 2020
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Singapore government tabled a bill in parliament on Tuesday that sought to ensure that a general election could be held safely if called during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city-state, which entered the first day of a month-long partial lockdown on Tuesday to try and curb sharply rising coronavirus cases, has said it is not ruling out holding the ballot before its deadline in early 2021.
Some opposition parties have said holding any vote during the outbreak would be a health risk.
The Elections Department said the temporary arrangements would “ensure the safety of voters, candidates and election officials, should the next General Election (GE) take place amid the COVID-19 situation.”
Among other provisions, the bill would allow citizens who are under movement restrictions due to the outbreak to cast their vote from the designated facilities to which they may have been confined.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and John Geddie in Singapore; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
