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SDP
election forum to be held on 20 Jan
Singapore
Democrats
10 Jan 08
The SDP will hold a public forum
entitled Reform of the Election System in Singapore on 20
Jan 08, Sunday at the Allson's Hotel, Victoria Street at 2 pm.
(See here)
Most Singaporeans are aware of the myriad of controls
that the ruling party exerts over the electoral system in this
country, making the process anything but free and fair.
The
lack of an independent election commission, the use of the GRC
system, the sudden changes of rules and regulations, the
numbering of the ballot slips, the impossibly short campaign
period, the gerrymandering are all problems that Singaporeans are
familiar with.
But little has been done to reform the
process. This forum hopes to kick-start a national effort to
address and rectify an election system that is politically
moribund. Rather than just talk (yet again) about the problems,
this forum will focus on action that can be taken to rectify the
situation.
The speakers are:
1. J
B Jeyaretnam, former sectary-general of the Workers' Party
2.
Jufrie Mahmoud, veteran oppositionist
3. Chia
Ti Lik, former Workers' Party candidate and member of SgHuman
Rights
4. Tan Tarn How, researcher at the
Institute of Policy Studies and former Straits Times
journalist
5. Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the
Singapore Democratic Party
The other opposition parties
have been invited to speak but they have not responded.
Reform
of our election system is a matter that concerns not just
political parties but also civil society, lawyers, academics,
journalists, etc – in other words, all citizens of this
country.
Your participation in this forum is vital and
your input on how we can make our elections free and fair will
mean whether we continue to live in a one-party state or reform
our society to a democratic one that values justice and the
rights of Singaporeans.
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