Political parties will be given TV and radio airtime to share their campaigning messages to voters at the national level. Political parties and candidates who wish to use films for campaigning should ensure that the films have been appropriately classified.
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Party Political Broadcasts (PPBs) refer to free broadcast airtime for political parties to share their campaigning messages with the voters during the campaign period at the national level.
Political parties that field at least six candidates under a recognised party symbol are eligible for airtime on free-to-air television and radio. Independents and political parties fielding fewer than six candidates under the same recognised party symbol are not eligible for the PPBs.
There will be two PPBs, with each PPB transmitted once on television and once on radio. The duration of airtime will be the same for both PPBs. All PPBs must not contain statements of a defamatory or criminal nature.
The order of the PPBs on television and radio will be determined by the number of candidates fielded by the parties, with the broadcast of the party fielding the least number of candidates aired first, and that fielding the largest number of candidates aired last.
Political parties may deliver their campaigning messages during PPBs in all or any of the four official languages i.e. English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil. It is not compulsory to deliver their campaigning messages in all four official languages.
Political parties must provide their own scripts for all languages that they intend to speak in. Where the script for a particular language is not provided, the political party will not be allowed to deliver its campaign message in that language.
The Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) will hold a briefing session on PPBs to political parties after the Writ of Election is issued. The registration for the first PPB will take place on Nomination Day.
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Political parties and candidates who intend to distribute or publicly exhibit films must submit them to the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) for classification, unless the film is exempted from classification. Political parties and candidates, or their representatives, may refer to IMDA’s Integrated Regulatory Information System Classification and Licensing Services webpage for more details.
All films submitted before the issue of the Writ of Election will be processed before Nomination Day. Films submitted after the issue of the Writ of Election will be processed within three working days.Where clarifications are required on the films, the applicant must respond to IMDA within the timeframe communicated by IMDA in order for the film to be processed expeditiously.
Films that are only posted online during the election period need not be submitted for classification, but they should comply with the other laws (such as the Parliamentary Elections Act 1954) and the Internet Code of Practice.
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Political parties and candidates are reminded that the making, distribution and exhibition of party political films (PPFs) is disallowed. PPFs include films which are made by any person and directed towards any political end in Singapore, such as those intended or likely to affect voting in any election in Singapore. Examples of PPFs are films which employ dramatisation and/or animation to distort, sensationalise or mislead viewers on political matters. In using film as a platform to conduct political discourse, political parties and candidates should respect the need to keep politics rational and grounded on facts.
Political parties and candidates should ensure that films are factual and objective, and do not dramatise and/or present an inaccurate account of events, persons, or situations. The following will not be considered PPFs:
- live recordings of performances, assemblies or processions that are held in accordance with the law and do not depict events, persons or situations in a dramatic way;
- factual documentaries, biographies or autobiographies which do not depict events, persons or situations in a dramatic way;
- films (without animation or dramatic elements) of a political party/candidate's declaration of policies or ideology on the basis of which the candidate will seek to be elected, that are produced by or on behalf of the political party/candidate; and
- films made solely for the purpose of reporting of news by a licensed broadcasting service.
Political parties and candidates are advised to refer to sections 2(1), 2(2) and 2(3) of the Films Act 1981 for further details on what does or does not constitute a PPF.
