Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
POLLING day is on May 7, and it will be a public holiday, announced the Returning Officer shortly after President S R Nathan dissolved Parliament on Tuesday afternoon at 3pm and set Nomination Day on April 27.
THE Government will make special effort to engage young Singaporeans and involve them in nation-building, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday night.
This will be a major task after the polls, he pledged.
PM Lee was speaking at the rally at Ubi to support the People's Action Party team led by Foreign Minister George Yeo, who is facing off the Workers' Party slate anchored by Mr Low Thia Khiang.
Reaching out to the young, Mr Lee said: 'We cherish you. We cheer for you. We want you to succeed, because Singapore belongs to you. You will be Singapore.'
He also exhorted young Singaporeans to build a better nation than what the older generations had achieved for them.
'And so we're making a special effort to engage young people, tapping their ideas and energies, involving them in building Singapore. That will be a major task which will face us after this General Elections,' added PM Lee.
The widely anticipated announcement kicked off a flurry of activities at political party branches, which have been gearing up for weeks.
Mr Yam Ah Mee, chief executive director of the People's Association has been appointed by the Prime Minister as the Returning Officer.
The election deposit for each candidate standing for election will be $16,000.
Some 2.3 million are eligible to vote at the coming general election, up from 2.1 million in the 2006 round, and 2 million in 2001.
More than one in four voters will be aged 21 to 34. Of these, some 200,000 are first-time voters.
Candidates can only start their election campaigns after nominations close and right up to two days before polling day. The campaign period will be at least nine days.
In the last General Election, 47 seats were contested, making it the most-pitched battle since 1988. This time round, the number of seats contested is expected to come close to that fought in 1988, when 86 per cent of seats were contested.
There are 87 seats in 27 constituencies - 12 single- member constituencies and 15 Group Representation Constituencies - to be contested this time round.
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COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS
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DTN SINGAPORE
@DTNSingapore Canada
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@DTNSingapore Canada
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