Should Singapore legislate free and fair election?

• robertteh

  13 Aug 05, 22:38

  Should Singapore legislate free and fair election as opposed to fixing of election or changes to electoral boundaries, creating electoral grouping to impede freedom of individual to stand for election?
• vindicated

  13 Aug 05, 23:03

  Hell yes!
• oxford mushroom

  14 Aug 05, 00:06

  Absolutely, but how do we push the govt to do that? It's the catch 22 situation...the legislators are not going to pass any legislation that might mean they will be booted out at the next election..
  
  I expect they will manipulate the electoral boundaries even more as they are increasingly concerned about opposition to their policies especially among the young. That's probably why they have brought in so many foreign talents to be citizens, hoping these new citizens would be grateful to them and vote for them.
• LazerLordz

  14 Aug 05, 00:31

  Originally posted by oxford mushroom:

  Absolutely, but how do we push the govt to do that? It's the catch 22 situation...the legislators are not going to pass any legislation that might mean they will be booted out at the next election..
  
  I expect they will manipulate the electoral boundaries even more as they are increasingly concerned about opposition to their policies especially among the young. That's probably why they have brought in so many foreign talents to be citizens, hoping these new citizens would be grateful to them and vote for them.

  It is so juvenile in assumption that the PRC/Westerneron the street would vote for another government that takes their rights away.
• iveco

  14 Aug 05, 00:40

  Should allow PREFERENTIAL votes in SMCs and disband GRCs. Let us vote for the person we WANT, regardless of PARTY affiliation. If this will result in multi-cornered fights in each and every ward, so be it. When the 2-party preference is accounted for, the winner is announced.
• robertteh

  14 Aug 05, 00:52

  Originally posted by oxford mushroom:

  Absolutely, but how do we push the govt to do that? It's the catch 22 situation...the legislators are not going to pass any legislation that might mean they will be booted out at the next election..
  
  I expect they will manipulate the electoral boundaries even more as they are increasingly concerned about opposition to their policies especially among the young. That's probably why they have brought in so many foreign talents to be citizens, hoping these new citizens would be grateful to them and vote for them.

  Looking at their past records, there is not going to be any change till they face humiliating defeats. Their opportunities for defeats do not arise to this date because of pure preemptive electoral boundary and GRC ploys. This has been made possible by the electoral naivety of the people who easily accepted all their slogans but now they cannot do anything because most constituencies are GRC-cornered walkovers.
• robertteh

  14 Aug 05, 00:57

  Originally posted by iveco:

  Should allow PREFERENTIAL votes in SMCs and disband GRCs. Let us vote for the person we WANT, regardless of PARTY affiliation. If this will result in multi-cornered fights in each and every ward, so be it. When the 2-party preference is accounted for, the winner is announced.

  There seems to be objection against proportional or preferential voting system in some quarters. It will be good to have some views on these aspects so that the alternatives can be more thoroughly explored to the present winners-take-all system.
  
  The present system gives rise to the kind of problem we are now facing because they exist all the opportunities for incumbent to maneurve the process. In preferential and proportional system the opportunity for one-party domination will not arise.