Singapore’s ELD issues tender for 10 mobile workstations amid early GE speculation

SINGAPORE: Amid speculation about an early election in September, the Elections Department (ELD) has called for quotations to supply and deliver 10 mobile workstations.

The tender, listed on the GeBiz platform, requires submissions by 1 pm on 5 July. GeBIZ, the Singapore Government’s e-procurement portal, hosts all public sector invitations for quotations and tenders.

This tender follows the recent update of Singapore’s voter rolls and speculation that the next general election, originally due by November 2025, might be called as early as September 2024.

The revised register of electors is currently open for public inspection until 2 July. Singaporeans can verify their details on the ELD website or via the Singpass application.

The ELD, a department under the Prime Minister’s Office, in the tender listing, specifies mobile workstations with the following specifications: 64GB RAM, 1TB primary SSD, 512GB secondary SSD, and no integrated webcam or with the integrated webcam removed.

The listing also outlines that the chosen contractor must deliver the items within four weeks of receiving the Letter of Acceptance or Purchase Order.

While price competitiveness is a critical factor in awarding the tender, ELD reserves the right not to “accept the lowest or any quotation.”

In 2019, ELD issued tenders following the formation of EBRC

In September 2019, following the formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) on 4 Sept, the ELD issued a tender on the GeBiz platform to procure at least 150 polling booths.

The ELD required these booths to be ready and delivered by 31 October 2019. During that year, ELD also invited tenders for computer supplies and document-related services in July and August.

Convening the EBRC is a crucial step before calling a General Election.

On 23 June 2020, Singapore’s 14th General Election was officially called following the dissolution of Parliament by then-President Halimah Yacob at the request of then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

PM Wong ambiguous on Singapore GE timing

When asked by Singapore media on 12 June about whether his upcoming international meetings would preclude an electoral contest this year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong emphasized that there is “still a lot of work to be done” on both domestic and foreign fronts.

He pointed out that the schedule of high-level international and regional gatherings in the months ahead is transparent and not confidential.

“You know when there is an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meeting, there’s an APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting, when there’s a G20 meeting. You know when they are held in the schedule and in the calendar this year,” he said.

“So you can already mark out which are the dates when I will be busy, when I will be away and which are the dates when I will be in Singapore. So it’s really for people to speculate.”

Mr Wong emphasized that the timing of the election will be clear in due course.

“Eventually, at the time when we decide it’s appropriate and the election has to be called, people will know. Same for the EBRC. ”

“Eventually when it is convened and it has done its work, people will know and then I suppose everyone will get ready for the elections,” he said.

Political analysts have suggested September this year as a potential date for the election, speculation has swirled regarding the timing of the next General Election.

Despite PM Wong’s ambiguous response to a direct question about the election date, Singapore’s alternative parties have intensified their ground outreach efforts, anticipating an early election call by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) government.