Hougang by-election to be called, date undecided
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says he intends to call a by-election in Hougang, but has not decided on the timing yet.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says he intends to call a by-election in Hougang, but has not decided on the timing yet.
Speaking in Parliament on Friday, he said that in deciding the timing of the by-election, he will take into account all relevant factors.
These include the well-being of Hougang residents, issues on the national agenda, as well as the international backdrop which affects Singapore's prosperity and security.
The Single Member Constituency (SMC) seat was left vacant after the Workers' Party (WP) expelled Mr Yaw Shin Leong on February 15 this year, following reports of his personal indiscretions.
On February 28, Parliament Speaker Michael Palmer announced that Mr Yaw had replied to him that he did not intend to challenge or appeal against his expulsion.
On the legal question of whether and when he must call a by-election, Mr Lee noted an application had been filed in court concerning this, so the matter is now sub judice, meaning under the consideration of the court.
While Members of Parliament (MPs) enjoy parliamentary immunity in this House, Mr Lee stressed Singapore's parliamentary convention is that Singaporeans do not talk about matters which are sub judice, for good reason.
The prime minister reminded MPs that Parliament had debated the issue extensively in 2008, when two Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) moved a motion proposing to require the prime minister to call a by-election within three months of a seat falling vacant.
Mr Lee had participated in that debate and stated the government's position fully, after taking the advice of the Attorney-General.
Mr Lee said he consulted the present Attorney-General again to confirm his advice regarding the Constitution before answering the question in the House on Friday.
Mr Lee recalled that Article 49 of the Constitution states that when a seat falls vacant it shall be filled by election.
In an SMC, a seat falls vacant when the MP vacates his office, for example when he is expelled from his political party, resigns his seat, or passes away.
"The timing of the by-election is at the discretion of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is not obliged to call a by-election within any fixed timeframe," said Mr Lee.
He added this absence of any stipulated timeframe is the result of a deliberate decision by Parliament to confer on the prime minister the discretion to decide when to fill a parliamentary vacancy.
Then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew explained this when he moved the Constitutional amendment in December 1965.
He said: "(This amendment) revokes a clause which was introduced into the State Constitution of Singapore when it entered Malaysia.
"Members in this House will know that there was no such injunction of holding a by-election within three months in our previous Constitution.
"We resisted this particular condition being imposed upon the State Constitution at the time we entered Malaysia, but our representations were not accepted because Malaysia insisted on uniformity of our laws with the other states in the Federation and with the Federal Constitution itself.
"Since we are no longer a part of the Federal whole, for reasons which we find valid and valuable as a result of our own experience of elections and of government in Singapore, we have decided that this limitation should no longer apply."
Prime Minister Lee said that the Constitution therefore reflects a political philosophy that emphasises stable government, and the view that in elections voters are primarily choosing between political parties to be given the mandate to govern the country, rather than between individual candidates to become MPs.
"We have kept the Constitutional provision because the considerations for enacting it in 1965 remain relevant today," he said.
"I'm pleased to note that the PM has decided to call for a by-election. That settles all the hypothetical speculations outside the House," said WP Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang.
"He said he will consider all factors before deciding when the by-election will be called. I would like to ask whether or not after considering all the factors, will he (be) able to indicate a period in which by-election would be called."
Mr Lee replied: "Certainly, Mr Speaker. I will do so as soon as I have finished considering all the factors."
"Does the prime minister not agree that with the Hougang SMC being vacant, there is actually an under-representation of the Hougang voters in this House?" asked WP Chairman Sylvia Lim.
In response, Mr Lee said: "If that is an issue, I would have thought it is something which the Workers' Party would have considered before deciding to expel Mr Yaw Shin Leong. Because the Constitution is clear, the rules are clear, how by-elections are called or not called are also completely clear, we debated it in the House. So if we are in this situation today, it is because the Workers' Party has caused this situation to happen knowing the consequences."
