The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election, Mr Tong Hio Fong, speaks to reporters.
The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election today announced the general list for candidate teams, including information on a total of 195 candidates from 25 teams due to contest the upcoming direct election.
The list also gives information on the 15 candidates from six teams due to contest the indirect election for the Legislative Assembly. The direct and indirect election procedures for the Legislative Assembly will be held on 17 September.
The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Tong Hio Fong, told reporters – after today’s Commission meeting – that the Commission had found faults in the paperwork of four teams due to contest the direct election. The Commission would notify the teams’ respective trustees, who should submit the missing material on or before 17 July.
The Commission also found that two of the four teams with faulty paperwork also had an aggregate of four potential candidates flagged as not registered as voters. Hence those people were not qualified to stand for election. The two teams concerned had the option of substituting the ineligible people with eligible individuals, said Mr Tong.
The Chairman issued a reminder that each team must contain at least four candidates, according to the Legislative Assembly Election Law, otherwise a team risked being excluded from the election. One of the two teams currently with ineligible persons had a particular risk of such a consequence.
The other two teams with faulty paperwork still needed to supply complete particulars of candidates or were missing a declaration statement from a would-be candidate.
The Commission would review matters and make decisions on 19 July regarding the four teams’ missing documents. On the proviso that following such decisions no objection or legal proceedings were instituted by the affected teams, the Commission would be able to announce – on 25 July at the earliest – the list of accepted candidates. On the day following such an announcement, lots would be drawn to determine the order in which electioneering teams would appear on the ballot paper, said Mr Tong.
When asked, Mr Tong stated the latest a candidate could inform the Commission about withdrawal of candidacy was three days prior to election day. The Commission would adjudicate on any such request for withdrawal from the election, added Mr Tong.