Prior to Nomination Day, there are other activities that candidates should perform or may conduct.
Once the Writ of Election is issued, but before Nomination Day is over, every person who declares an intention to stand for election shall appoint an election agent to manage and administer his election expenses. The maximum number of election agents a candidate can appoint is 20, one of whom is to be the principal election agent. A candidate may appoint himself as his election agent.
The appointment of an election agent can be made online via Candidate Services or in writing using the Appointment of Election Agents form by the candidate. Additionally, the particulars of the principal election agent and every election agent must also be declared to the Returning Officer.
A candidate may lawfully enter into certain contracts or appoint election staff connected with an election but may not pay amounts due under those contracts except through an election agent.
Even with the appointment of an election agent, the candidate remains responsible for complying with the law in relation to all campaigning activities. The candidate is responsible for his campaigning activities, and it is his duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent the commission of Illegal Practices or Corrupt Practices during election campaigning.
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The duties and responsibilities of an election agent are summarised below:
After close of nomination proceedings
- to declare to the Returning Officer via Candidate Services Online Election Advertising that is published in Singapore or non-online election advertising that is published in Singapore by electronic means;
- to apply for relevant permits from the Police, e.g. for election meetings and for the use of perambulating vehicles during the campaigning period, as well as election meetings in assembly centres on the night of counting;
- to issue written authorisations to election workers (i.e. persons authorised to conduct election activities) and/or third parties who undertake election advertising on behalf of the candidate;
- to submit the particulars of persons who have been given written authority to conduct election advertising online via Candidate Services or in person to the Returning Officer;
- to appoint and issue letters of appointment to polling agents;
- to appoint and issue letters of appointment to counting agents;
- to keep an accurate account of all expenses incurred and donations received, and all disputed claims and unpaid claims for payment;
- to receive all contributions (whether as gift, loan, advance or deposit) for the candidate’s election expenses and to pay for all such election expenses; and
- to pay all claims for election expenses within the time delimited by law.
Post-election
In addition to the duties and responsibilities mentioned above, the principal election agent is also required:
- to submit the Return Respecting Election Expenses and Declarations by Candidate and Principal Election Agent to the Returning Officer within 31 days of the day on which the election result is published in the Government Gazette; and
- to submit the Post-election Donation Report and Declaration to the Registrar, Registry of Political Donations within 31 days of the day on which the election result is published in the Government Gazette.
Appointment of Election Agents (pdf file: 246 KB)
Candidates should submit their photographs in conformance with the requirements stipulated by the Returning Officer for inclusion in the ballot paper. Otherwise, the space on the ballot paper for the candidate’s photograph will state “No photo”.
Candidates are advised to submit their photographs early either online via Candidate Services or in person at the Elections Department after the Writ of Election is issued but not later than Nomination Day.
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The photograph of the candidate must allow voters to recognise the candidate for voting purposes and shall:
- be in black and white;
- be 400 pixels (width) by 514 pixels (height), and the file size should be about 2MB in JPEG format (.jpg extension);
- be in sharp focus and clear with no ink marks or creases;
- have a plain white background or, in the case where the candidate’s hair, hat or head covering is white, a plain light-grey background;
- be taken with uniform lighting and not show any flash reflection or shadow on the candidate’s face or any uneven bright spots or red eyes;
- be taken recently;
- show the candidate alone with no other person visible;
- show the candidate facing the camera, and if the candidate wears glasses or other optical aid, show the candidate with no reflection off the glasses or optical aid;
- show clearly both edges of the candidate’s face and the top of his shoulders;
- not show the candidate wearing any hat or other head covering, other than a hat or other head covering which he habitually wears for religious reasons or due to custom; and if any such hat or other head covering is worn, the photograph must still be a full frontal view of the candidate’s head and shoulders, showing his facial features in its entirety and showing clearly both edges of his face;
- not show the candidate wearing any attire, hat or other covering which bears any symbol which is of any racial or religious significance; and
- the photograph should be submitted in softcopy stored in a USB flash drive (not returnable) for submissions in person. The filename of the photograph should be in the format: <<NRIC number of candidate>> separated by a hyphen <<name of candidate>>, i.e. S1234567A-Goh Kok Goi.jpg.
Some restrictions (for example the requirement that election advertising be declared under section 42E of the Presidential Elections Act 1991) only apply during the campaign period, i.e., only after close of nomination proceedings on Nomination Day. Nevertheless, relevant licences and permits by regulatory authorities may still be required for activities such as walkabouts, house-to-house visits, distributing pamphlets, handouts and newsletters, and publishing of manifestos and prospective candidates’ biographical details. Prospective candidates are to ensure that activities are conducted within the limits of the law.
