The General Election (GE) occurs quinquennially and is an integral responsibility of all Singaporeans aged 21 and above.
As PM Lee Hsien Loong quipped on his Facebook page: “The new government will impact and influence your lives and livelihoods. These decisions will shape Singapore for many years to come, far beyond the five-year time of the next Government.”
He urged Singaporeans to vote wisely.
According to the Elections Department of Singapore (ELD), voting is compulsory and a fundamental right of citizenship.
But what happens if you don’t vote on Polling Day?
Well, your voting rights will then be forfeited after the elections are over – the Returning Officer will compile a list of all non-voters and remove them from the certified Register of Electors.
You are then not able to vote at any subsequent Presidential or Parliamentary elections and disqualified from being an election candidate in the future.
However, not all hope is lost.
You can still restore your name to the register by submitting an application to the Registration Officer, explaining why you did not vote in the election.
You will then be charged $50 if your reason for not voting is not valid or insufficient.
However, no restoration can be made once a Writ of Election is already issued.
Every vote counts, so you might as well just vote wisely.