What's this 'Writ of Election' people keep talking about, & why should I care?

You might've come across this term once or twice in articles or chatter about the General Election.

The "Writ of Election".

It's an important-sounding term that doesn't actually convey much in itself.

So what does it actually mean, and why should you care?

Countdown to election

The Writ of Election is essentially an announcement of the General Election.

On the Prime Minister's advice, the President will dissolve Parliament and issue the Writ of Election, kicking off the election season.

The Writ contains facts like the date of Nomination Day, which legally has to take place at least five days and not more than a month after the Writ is issued.

But historically, it happens after exactly a week.

Campaign period

Nomination Day is when the different political parties officially submit their candidate line-ups.

It also marks the start of campaigning.

According to the law, Polling Day must take place between 10 and 56 days after Nomination Day.

But in Singapore, Polling Day has typically never been later than on Day 11.

You might realise at this point, since the gaps between the major milestones are pretty consistent, how important the Writ of Election is.

Since we'll roughly know when Nomination Day will be held based on the Writ, this also means we can make a pretty good guess at Polling Day, too.

In other words: Once the Writ of Election is issued, we'll know when we're headed to the polls.

So when?

With political parties announcing new candidates and staking their claims in various constituencies every other day, it's quite possible that election season is indeed on its way.

But just when will the Writ of Election be issued, to make this all official?

Technically, Parliament can be dissolved anytime before the end of its five-year term — which is in November.

But in past elections, this typically happened between one and three months after the publication of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report.

Since this election's EBRC report was published on Mar. 11, it's fairly likely that the Writ will be issued fairly soon.

All that's left, really, is to watch and wait.

Top image from Tharman Shanmugaratnam/Facebook and ELD Singapore/Facebook