Dr Chee Soon Juan and his Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) seem to be expecting that the next General Election (GE) may be called as soon as sometime this month or next month. In a Facebook post published yesterday evening (1 Oct), Dr Chee invited supporters to join his party’s first pre-election rally and said:
“With the GE expected in November or December – just weeks away – now is the time to get excited, to get active!”
Last month, the Government announced that the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) was formed in August. The formation of the EBRC marks the first formal step towards the next election and news that it has already convened has led to fevered speculation on when the next GE will take place.
Political observers and members of the public seem to agree the next GE could be held as soon as November 2019 or timed to take place in the first quarter of 2020, after the next Budget.
The SDP, which has already organised several pre-GE campaign events since the beginning of this year, is wasting no time preparing for the election.
Dr Chee said that the upcoming pre-election rally, which will be held at Hong Lim Park on 19 Oct from 4pm onwards, is “meant to grab the attention of Singaporeans to the seriousness of this election and build momentum so that we can make a real difference come polling day.”
Asserting that the full participation of fellow Singaporeans is crucial, Dr Chee said that the people’s support “will mean the difference between a keenly contested GE or another wipeout with the PAP left unchecked again.”
The SDP revealed on its website that the pre-election rally is themed ‘Shake It Up!’ because the party sees the need to “need to shake things up to get the attention of all Singaporeans at this critical period just before the the GE” and “create the biggest awareness campaign this nation has ever seen.” It added:
“With the PAP set to pile on difficulties on citizens like raising the GST to 9%, jacking up our population to an unbearable 10 million, and retaining the CPF savings of retirees, it is time the Singaporeans send a clear message to our ministers that we don’t approve of these policies.”
Highlighting that the future of Singapore is at stake, the party called on the people to join the movement for change and participate in the rally.
The SDP revealed earlier that it plans to contest Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Bukit Batok SMC, Bukit Panjang SMC and Yuhua SMC at the next GE if the electoral boundaries remain the same. These are the same wards that the party contested in the 2015 GE.
The upcoming pre-election rally will see SDP’s potential candidates presenting the party’s case for the impending GE. The party also promises that the rally will not be an ordinary one – it will include live entertainment and will culminate in a mass light up display involving the people.
SDP expected to organise first pre-election rally next month