The Workers' Party (WP) does not want to take part in "speculation" over the date of the General Election.

This is due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore and the impact on the economy.

GE usually held shortly after release of EBRC

WP stated that there is a lot of "speculation and excitement" following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report.

The General Election usually takes place in a short amount of time after the report is released.

But the WP said that the situation Singaporeans are faced with in 2020 is different.

Due to the spread of Covid-19, strong measures have been implemented, including travel restrictions and encouraging social distancing in public venues.

Stated WP:

"We urge the government to take caution and exercise judiciousness in calling for 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."

It added:

"When the election is called, the Workers' Party will be ready and prepared for it -- as we have been for the last four years. We will take the necessary precautions to run a fair and safe campaign."

PSP: 3 alternatives to holding the elections soon

In its own statement, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) also said that it is prepared for the general election "anytime".

However, party leader Tan Cheng Bock also questioned the wisdom of holding an election amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We are exposing more than 2.6 million voters to the virus on polling day because voting is compulsory and everyone must go to the polling stations to cast their votes.

During the campaign period, there will be rallies and many large group election activities being held. Is this a risk we want to take?"

The PSP suggested three alternatives:

• Postpone the election.
• Call the GE when Covid-19 is no longer a "crisis".
• Wait until April 2021, the deadline for the election, before calling for it.

Tan even suggested that President Halimah Yacob could form a caretaker government and call for an election when the outbreak was no longer a crisis.

SDP: Rule out holding the GE until tail-end of virus spread

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) called on the government to "categorically rule out the GE" until it was clear that Singapore was experiencing the tail-end of the virus spread.

It added that not postponing the election was a sign that the ruling People's Action Party was "putting its own interests over the people's safety."

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