VOTING SYSTEM FOR VOTERS WHO ARE OVERSEAS

Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Prime Minister whether a voting system will be implemented for eligible voters who are overseas and, if not, why.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng) (for the Prime Minister): Sir, our existing voting system is simple, transparent and effective. On average, 95% of eligible voters cast their votes in elections. The system achieves foolproof voter verification. Except for the blind, every voter marks his ballot paper himself. There is complete transparency, because candidates and their polling and counting agents can be physically present to witness the voting and vote counting. There is also absolute security of the cast ballots, from the polling station all the way to the counting table.

The Elections Department has studied the issue of overseas voting since 1983, and examined how other countries do it. There are various methods - voting in overseas missions, electronic voting, postal voting, or proxy voting. However, each has limitations and operational difficulties.

We only have 26 overseas missions. Many electors will not live or work close enough to one of them to go there to vote, especially in a large country like China or the United States.

Electronic voting looks attractive, but at present still has fundamental technical deficiencies. Elector verification is not foolproof, and there is no trail or hard evidence like a marked ballot paper to refer to in case of a dispute.

Overseas voters are a very small minority. Elections Department estimates that only 3.5% of electors are unable to vote because they are overseas. It is therefore better not to complicate the voting system for the sake of this small number of electors.

However, the issue is not just numbers or operational difficulties. The 3.5% of Singaporeans who are overseas are away for various reasons. 1.4% are away on holiday and 0.7% are studying overseas. The remaining 1.4% are working or living abroad. Some are on overseas postings, perhaps working for the Government or for Singapore companies in their regionalisation efforts. But others have emigrated. They may be waiting to take up foreign citizenship, or they may have gone abroad many years ago and lost touch with events back home, even though they have not given up their Singapore passport.

The case for overseas voting is stronger for some of these groups than for others. But, in practice, it is difficult to distinguish between them. So we have kept the requirement that a Singaporean must return home to vote, as a practical test of whether he still maintains his links to Singapore and will make the effort to exercise his duties as a citizen.

Sir, the Government has therefore decided not to implement a system for overseas voting. However, it recognises that this is not a static situation. With globalisation, more Singaporeans will work abroad, and the case for overseas voting may change. We will therefore review the issue from time to time.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I want to know the number of estimated overseas voters. The Minister quoted the percentage.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, let me take the 1997 general elections and using the percentage I mentioned earlier, about 31,000 out of the 765,300 electors did not vote in the 1997 elections. Among them were about 9,300 who were elderly infirm or those who were sick and unable to vote. About 4,340 of them were studying overseas; about 8,680 of them were holidaying abroad and about 8,680 were either working or living abroad, more or less permanently. So if the Member is talking about people who are working overseas or staying overseas permanently, the number is about 8,600.

Mr Simon S C Tay (Nominated Member): Sir, would the Minister consider the use of exit voting, given that canvassing for polling is only nine days and people may already have work or other commitments to be abroad?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, the Elections Department has also studied exit voting, in other words, people going overseas and they want to vote before they go away. I think there are also other complications and we have decided to stay with the present system. Polling Day is fixed. If a person decides to make a trip abroad because he cannot change the date, so be it. He goes. Otherwise, he could make an alternative arrangement, which is to stay at home and vote on Polling Day.