Sorry For Unusually Long Queues, S'pore's Election Dept Tells Voters

SINGAPORE, July 10 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s Election Department (ELD) has apologised to voters for the longer-than-usual queues that they experienced Friday morning when they voted for the 2020 General Election at 1,100 polling stations. The 18th General Election for Singapore and the 13th since independence in 1965 is being held in a “new normal” with a safe distancing regulation and restrictions amid the prevailing COVID-19 situation. In a statement, ELD said more voters had turned up this morning than expected outside their assigned voting time-bands. “This, together with measures that had been put in place to ensure safe voting, had led to long queues,” it said. To address the long wait, the department did away with the requirement to don disposable gloves, as voters would already be required to sanitise their hands. “We observed that this step in particular contributed to the longer than usual voting times," it said. As at noon, the department said 840,000 or 31 per cent of the registered voters have cast their votes at the local polling stations. Meanwhile, Singapore President Halimah Yacob, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and their respective spouses have also cast their ballots. On LIVEblog by CNA, Lee was heard saying that the safety measures in place at the polling stations were “practical”. “Takes a bit longer. I think the queues are a bit longer. But the officers are trying their best,” said Lee, adding that from what he knew, "the teething problems have been sorted out and it’s running smoothly now”. -- BERNAMA