Elections Department calls second tender in two months

SINGAPORE - Following a tender called last month for the provision of bus transportation services to support election operations, the Elections Department (ELD) put up another on Wednesday (July 10) for the printing, packing and delivery of documents.

According to the tender documents on government procurement portal GeBiz, printing items include printed cards, forms, posters and signs, as well as paraphernalia such as ballot box funnels and plastic folders, among others.

Delivery services will mean manpower and vehicles to deliver documents to election premises such as nomination centres, Group Assistant Returning Officer centres, Senior Assistant Returning Officer or counting centres and the Elections Department training centre.

The appointed contractor will also have to provide a secured storage facility for election materials that is guarded by closed-circuit surveillance cameras and has physical access control.

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The closing date for the tender is Aug 5.

The contract will remain in force for three years to cover the next general election and any by-elections. It may also be extended yearly for not more than two years, to cover the next presidential election held no later than 2023, and any by-elections during the contract extension period.

However, a series of tenders does not necessarily mean that elections are just around the corner. A more accurate indicator would be the formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC), which looks at demographic changes to decide how electoral wards should be drawn.

In 2015, PM Lee announced its formation to Parliament in July, two months after the committee had been appointed.

The committee completed its work and submitted its report on July 21 that year to PM Lee. The general election was called about a month later, on Aug 25.

In response to a parliamentary question by Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, answering on behalf of PM Lee, said on Monday that the Prime Minister has not yet appointed the EBRC. The next general election must be held by April 2021.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for republication.