Polling Day for Hougang by-election on May 26 - Channel NewsAsia

Polling Day for Hougang by-election on May 26 - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Polling Day for the Hougang by-election will be on May 26, 2012, should there be a contest.

Nomination Day for the by-election will be on May 16.

President Tony Tan Keng Yam issued the writ of election on Wednesday.

"The by-election will give Hougang residents the chance to elect a new MP to serve them. I encourage Hougang voters to use this opportunity wisely, to elect the best candidate with commitment and integrity: someone they can rely upon to express their hopes and concerns, address their needs, and make a real difference to their lives," said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on his Facebook post.

The single-member constituency seat fell vacant in February after former Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong was expelled from the Workers' Party, following reports of his personal indiscretions.

Mr Yaw had won the seat in the May 2011 general election with 64.8 per cent of the vote.

Polling Day for the by-election is not a public holiday. Under the law, every employer has to allow every elector in his employ a reasonable period of time for voting.

According to the Elections Department, Serangoon Junior College will be the nomination centre.

The Returning Officer is Mr Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive Director of the People's Association.

Nomination papers can be collected at the office of the Returning Officer at the Elections Department in Prinsep Link.

They are available between 9am and 5pm daily (except Sundays and public holidays) and between 9am and 1pm on Saturdays.

Soft copies of the nomination paper can be downloaded from the Elections Department website.

The nomination paper must be filled in correctly and signed by the candidate and his/her proposer, seconder and at least four assentors whose names appear in the current Register of Electors for Hougang Constituency.

It must be delivered in duplicate to the Returning Officer at the Nomination Centre between 11am and 12 noon on Nomination Day.

The candidate must also be accompanied by his/her proposer, seconder and at least four assentors when delivering the nomination paper.

The Elections Department said every candidate must also obtain a Political Donation Certificate from the Registrar of Political Donations.

Application for the Certificate shall be made by submitting, in person or through an authorised representative, a pre-election donation report (Form 3) and a pre-election declaration (Form 4) to the Registrar of Political Donations at the Elections Department.

This must be done before 1pm on 12 May.

Application forms can be obtained from the Elections Department or downloaded from the Elections Department website.

According to the Parliamentary Elections Act, the deposit per candidate is eight per cent of the total allowances payable to an MP in the preceding year and rounded to the nearest S$500.

The deposit for a candidate shall, therefore, be S$13,500.

The deposit shall be paid either in cash or by a bank draft or a cheque certified by the bank as good for payment of the sum specified therein (payable to "Accountant-General, Singapore").

Payment can be made at any time, but no later than 12 noon on Nomination Day.

Payment can be made at the Accountant-General's Department, 100 High Street, #06-01, The Treasury. It can also be made at the Nomination Centre on Nomination Day.

-CNA/ac