The sample count for Bukit Panjang SMC is here.

According to the Elections Department (ELD), the People's Action Party (PAP) is ahead of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) with 56 percent of the votes.

Bukit Panjang SMC is one of the constituencies that have been closely watched as SDP chairman Paul Tambyah goes up against PAP's Liang Eng Hwa.

The sample count results were announced by the Elections Department (ELD) in advance of the actual results.

While the expected margin of error is +/- four percentage points, members of the public should wait for the official announcement by the Returning Officer, ELD says.

What is the sample count?

Prior to the final tally being broadcast, the sample count is published by the ELD.

According to ELD, the sample count is released in order to prevent speculation and misinformation from unofficial sources while counting is underway.

The sample count provides an indication of the results in each constituency, which are obtained by:

• Picking a random bundle of 100 ballot papers from each polling station.
• Counting the 100 votes, with candidates and counting agents present.
• Adding up the votes for each candidate or GRC team, giving more weightage to the bundles from polling stations where more votes were cast.

The final tally will be released later.

Top photos via PAP website and Facebook / Paul Tambyah.