General Elections

Polling Agents Reflect On GE2020 Process, Believe In Upholding Democracy

Polling Agents Share Experiences At Stations

It is important for any democratic system to have checks and balances in place. This not only ensures impartiality, but also prevents any form of manipulation.

For GE2020 that just concluded recently, one of these checks came in the form of polling agents.

Source

2 polling agents shared their experiences during GE2020, and concluded that the process was important for upholding democracy in Singapore.

Polling agent ensure law is upheld

Polling agents from parties are there to ensure that there is no tampering of the voting process, according to ELD.

They observe the work of the election officers and make sure that no funny business occurs.

PAP polling agents have the job of striking names off the electoral register, but it must be bought by the party from the Elections Department.

As Mr Loo’s group of volunteers didn’t know this, they didn’t manage to get one.

DPM Heng & WP candidates inspect voting process

In his Facebook post, Mr Loo – a WP polling agent at East Coast GRC – pointed out the difference in reception between DPM Heng’s and WP candidates’ arrival.

Source

 

Mr Loo noted that DPM Heng’s arrival was met with a number of reporters and photographers at the polling station.

Source

DPM Heng inspected the voting process for 15 minutes, where he instructed the Returning Officer (RO) to shift the wheelchair ramp, before leaving at 8.15am, Mr Loo said.

Unlike DPM Heng, WP candidates Mr Abdul Shariff and Mr Kenneth Foo arrived with little fanfare, unseen by the media.

Source

Mr Kenneth Foo, the 2nd WP candidate to arrive at that polling station, checked in with Mr Loo about the polling process at the polling station.

Mr Foo also delivered food to Mr Loo and his fellow WP polling agents at the poll station.

PAP and WP polling agents interact

The polling agents also highlighted how people with different political views could still enjoy friendly interactions with each other.

Source

In her Facebook post, Ms Nabilah shared how both her and a PAP polling agent agreed that they were ultimately pro-Singapore despite their differing political opinions.

Source

For Mr Loo – a WP volunteer – his conversation with his fellow PAP polling agent was born from curiosity about his motivations for volunteering.

While they didn’t end up taking a group shot together, scenes at other polling stations seem to indicate that polling agents from different parties did interact cordially.

Arduous work, but fulfils need for democracy

Despite the arduous hours polling agents have to put in as volunteers, coupled with an extension to voting hours, Ms Nabilah in particular felt gratified by the work she did.

By observing the voting process, both agents saw themselves as ensuring a fair and unbiased election.

We hope their reflections will help more people empathise with the efforts in maintaining our democracy processes.

Featured image adapted from Facebook.

Destin Lim

Destin loves exercising and sports. Sadly he can't tell your destiny.

Recent Posts

Elderly man pickpocketed on bus from JB to S’pore, loses S$450 & has S$800 charged to credit card

The thief left the wallet and more than RM200 behind, presumably to mislead the 72-year-old…

23 Dec 2024, 1:38 pm

SingPost fires 3 senior executives citing gross negligence, CEO & CFO to contest termination

Earlier this year, three managers were found to have made manual updates on a customer’s…

23 Dec 2024, 12:14 pm

Passenger on US flight slammed for bringing Great Dane as ’emotional support’ dog

On the other hand, some said they'd prefer sitting next to a massive dog than…

23 Dec 2024, 10:12 am

Nearly 20 cats abandoned in Bedok flat filled with rubbish, some injured after jumping from windows

Some sustained injuries after jumping from windows, while others starved to death.

23 Dec 2024, 9:52 am

Continuous heavy traffic expected at S’pore-JB checkpoints till end of 2024: ICA

A record of more than 553,000 travellers crossed both checkpoints on 13 Dec.

22 Dec 2024, 7:25 pm