The Elections Department Singapore has issued a statement in response to the maiden speech by Workers' Party MP Dennis Tan, on Aug. 31, 2020 -- the first time the opposition politician spoke as an elected parliamentarian for Hougang SMC.
"Petty and bad politics"
In his remarks, Tan spoke about experiencing "petty and bad politics" during the General Election 2020 constituency hustings.
The opposition politician wondered out loud if the People's Action Party (PAP) had "gone backwards in time" with its campaign tactics in his constituency.
Tan cited two examples.
First, a resident had allegedly witnessed the PAP team in Hougang pulling down WP posters from their original height resulting in a violation of election rules, and the lodging of two complaints against Tan's campaign.
Second, the PAP team had planted their flags in front of Tan's banners, effectively blocking the contents of material by the opposition party from being seen by voters in Hougang SMC.
How ELD responded
In its statement, ELD addressed one of two issues that Tan raised in Parliament.
ELD said two complaints related to Tan's posters were lodged because campaign material were below the 2.2m height requirement, when they should be placed higher so as not to obstruct the line of sight for motorists.
ELD did not address Tan's other complaint about PAP flags.
However, ELD clarified that it did not receive any report from Tan regarding allegations that his posters were pulled down, and urged him to come forward to do so to allow the incident to be investigated.
PAP's Murali intervened
Tan's speech sparked one of the first back-and-forths of Singapore's 14th parliament.
PAP MP Murali Pillai subsequently questioned if Tan accepted that ELD would handle such complaints in an "even-handed way".
Upon prompting from the Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, Tan then clarified that ELD handled such complaints fairly.
This response was highlighted in the ELD statement, which said that Tan had acknowledged in Parliament that ELD has been “even-handed” in handling complaints received.
The ELD statement also said it received over 220 feedback and complaints related to campaigning material, and would get election agents of the incumbent and opposition parties to rectify any problems within three hours.
You can read the ELD statement here:
During the Debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President, MP Dennis Tan spoke about two complaints that were made to the Elections Department (ELD) during the recent General Elections about his campaign posters. ELD would like to make the following clarifications.
ELD received over 220 feedback and complaints from members of the public as well as political parties, relating to posters and banners put up by candidates and political parties for GE2020. The breaches included posters and banners being within 50m of a polling station, not in possession of the Returning Officer’s stamp and below the 2.2m height requirement.
In Mr Dennis Tan’s case, ELD confirms that both complaints related to his posters were because they were below the 2.2m height requirement. This is to ensure that posters do not obstruct the line of sight for motorists.
When ELD receives such complaints, regardless of political party, ELD’s approach is to ask the election agent to rectify the posters in breach of the rules within 3 hours. If this is done, no further action will be taken. In most cases, rectifications were done within the 3-hour timeframe and no further action was taken. This was also the case for the complaints relating to Mr Dennis Tan’s posters. ELD notes that Mr Tan has acknowledged in Parliament that ELD has been “even-handed” in handling complaints received.
Mr Dennis Tan alleged that a resident had informed him that his posters were pulled down from the original height. This is a serious allegation. ELD has not received any such report from Mr Tan. Mr Tan should file a report with ELD so that this can be investigated.
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Top photo via Dennis Tan Facebook & Google Maps