Tan Chuan-Jin says “Difficult to pinpoint best time for General Election”

Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin said that because of Covid-19 it might be difficult to find the right time to hold the next GE.

Mr Tan, who is an MP for Marine Parade GRC, speaking to The Sunday Times at an SGSecure roadshow, also said that the Covid-19 situation looks like it is going to be with us for some time. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also said that the outbreak could continue for a year or longer last Thursday (12 Mar).

It is being speculated by political observers that the election could be held somewhere from April to June.

Tan See Leng, former chief executive of IHH Healthcare, was also at the event. Having been spotted with Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at numerous grassroots events, it is being speculated that he could be fielded as a candidate.

When asked about the recent changes to the electoral boundaries, Mr Tan said that he was not aware of the considerations that the review committee put in place although he knew the general move was towards greater “contestability”.  He also pointed to a shift in population being another factor in the changes.

He also said that while house visits could still be done for campaigning, adjustments might have to be made for rallies. Mr Tan said that he thinks parties who relied on the nine day minimum campaigning period to rouse the support of residents have fundamentally failed.

When he was asked about the Worker’s Party contesting in his area, they did so in 2015, he said he believed they were not active there although he knew they did outreach activities from time to time and that it was good for the residents to have a choice.