The Singaporean general elections are going to be held 7 May 2011. The Opposition is contesting every seat except 5 seats in Tanjong Pagar GRC (there are 87 total) because the Elections Department, a subset of the Prime Minister's Office, disqualified the Opposition for being 35 seconds late [the team had to raise the minimum funds on short notice].
Friends from Singapore who study at my school who I thought were apathetic (because they were rich, well-off, finance students who celebrated the good life) have been surprisingly energised. People I long thought would never care about democracy and political progress are now chatting excitedly. Long-standing ministers from the PAP, used to no-contest elections or easy victories, may be facing some of the hottest political contests of their careers.
Friendships are being forged across the country and across the internet. The Opposition coalition holds a wide array of parties (SDA, SDP, WP, RP, etc.) working together. My friends and their friends, either going into or are who already have been in fields such as law, journalism, finance and the like -- previously reliably supported the PAP, or previously did not get to vote at all due to election walkovers.
thank you facebook, I guess?
When this all ends, the Opposition better have more than two elected seats. (The number of seats it had last election.)
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