Singapore on Wednesday took its first step towards calling for a general election, with the government announcing that a committee tasked with setting electoral boundaries has been formed.
Analysts told This Week In Asia that the move to create the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) paved the way for a midyear election, which would be centred on bread-and-butter issues.
The EBRC’s formation is typically the first indication of the election season in Singapore. Over the past four elections, the timeline between the convening of the committee and polling day has varied between four months in 2015 and 11 months in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The next election must be called before its legal deadline in November, in a year when Singapore celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence in August.
The stakes are especially high for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who will be leading the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in the coming polls for the first time since his predecessor Lee Hsien Loong, son of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, stepped down last May.
Political observers told This Week in Asia that the election would be a litmus test for Wong.