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Singapore decides
Singaporeans prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday
Singapore election: Singaporeans prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday. (AP/Ng Han Guan) (AP/Ng Han Guan)
Singaporeans prepare to vote at a polling station in Singapore, Friday. (AP/Ng Han Guan)
Singaporeans headed for polling stations early on Friday.
There were orderly queues at several polling stations as many went down at 8 a.m. to cast their vote.
As many as 2.46 million Singaporeans across the island are expected to vote by 8 p.m. on Friday, in the first general election in 50 years where every single seat is contested.
A total of eight opposition parties are challenging the ruling People's Action Party in this election.
Singaporeans will pick 89 Members of Parliament for 16 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and 13 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs).
The 832 stations where Singaporeans can cast their votes will be open for 12 hours today, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. No ballot papers will be issued after polling closes.
Some of the 4,868 eligible Singaporean voters abroad were able to cast their vote as early as Thursday.
Voters can only vote at the polling station stated in their poll card. They should avoid going to their polling station during the morning peak period as they may have to wait longer to cast their votes.
They must also take along their poll card and their identity card or Singapore passport.
After polling closes, members of the public and supporters of the political parties can gather at four assembly centers to wait for the announcement of the election results.
The People's Action Party, which is contesting all 89 seats, has three assembly centers at Toa Payoh Stadium, Jurong West Stadium and Bedok Stadium. The Workers' Party, which is contesting 28 seats, has one at Hougang Stadium.
The centers will be open from 8 p.m. tonight until 30 minutes after the announcement of the last result of the election.
For the first time, the Elections Department will first reveal "sample count" results for each of the 16 group representation constituencies and 13 single-seat wards.
A hundred ballot papers from each polling stations will be randomly chosen by a counting assistant in the presence of the candidates and their counting agents.
The votes will be added up and weighted accordingly to account for the difference in the number of votes cast at each polling station. The sample count for each constituency will be shown as a percentage of the valid votes earned by the candidates.
Sample counts are generally about 95 per cent accurate, plus or minus four percentage points. The first sample count results will probably come from the single-seat wards where there are fewer voters and could be released from about 10 p.m. (k)(++++)
