MARUAH Singapore

Letter to Elections department on voting procedures for visually-handicapped Singaporeans

6 May 2011

MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore) has written to the Elections department regarding voting procedures for visually-handicapped Singaporeans. The letter is reproduced below.

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5 May 2011

Mr Lee Seng Lup
Head, Elections Department
Singapore

Dear Sir,

Re: Proper voting procedures for visually-handicapped Singaporeans

I write on behalf of MARUAH (Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, Singapore), a registered human rights NGO in Singapore. We are writing to you in respect of certain issues relating to the voting procedures applicable to visually-handicapped Singaporeans.

It has come to our attention that when visually-handicapped Singaporeans vote, their votes may not be secret, and they also have no assurance that their votes are being properly cast in accordance with their wishes. This appears to be causing significant concern within the visually-handicapped community in Singapore.

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Posted by lee sze yong

MARUAH media monitoring: Day 8 (5 May 2011)

6 May 2011

MARUAH is conducting an election watch project. Part of this project includes monitoring the election coverage by the mainstream media, specifically the Straits Times, TODAY and The New Paper. (We are unable to cover the other languages and other media, e.g. TV and radio, because of resource constraints.)

Our findings on Day 8 are set out below.

You can also download the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each party (in column inches)

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Posted by lee sze yong

MARUAH launches survey on polling experience in GE2011

5 May 2011

As part of MARUAH’s election watch project in relation to GE2011, MARUAH seeks to validate that the polling process is indeed conducted in a free and fair manner, with voters feeling secure that their votes are secret.

MARUAH had previously requested the Elections Dept permit MARUAH volunteers access to polling stations for this. As the Elections Dept has to date not responded, MARUAH is now asking for voters’ assistance in conducting this aspect of the project.

Specifically, we are asking all voters to complete an online survey on their experience in the polling stations. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. The survey is also optimised for mobile phones, so that you can complete the survey on your phone immediately after voting!

It is important to read the survey form before going to vote, so that you will know what to look out for in the polling station. You can find the survey form at:

http://is.gd/GEpolling

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Posted by siewkumhong

MARUAH media monitoring: Day 7 (4 May 2011)

5 May 2011

Our findings on Day 7 are set out below.

You can also download the findings as a PDF file.

Coverage of each party (in column inches)

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Posted by lee sze yong

UPR process to review Singapore’s human rights record

4 May 2011

Singapore’s human rights record will be reviewed at an upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session this Friday.

MARUAH was part of the Coalition of Singapore NGOs (COSINGO), which submitted a joint shadow report in November 2010.
https://maruah.org/2010/11/01/coalition-of-singapore-ngos-cosingo-submission-to-universal-periodic-review/

At the same time, MARUAH also submitted its shadow report, focusing specifically on the Internal Security Act and the death penalty.
https://maruah.org/2010/11/01/maruah-upr-submission-on-the-death-penalty-and-preventive-detention-without-trial/

Questions submitted in advance by several UN member countries have been uploaded to the webpage below.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/SGSession11.aspx

Also, MARUAH president Ms Braema Mathi is currently at the UN, as part of the process and to raise awareness of the human rights issues currently facing Singapore.

The live video of the session will be streamed at the link below at 3pm Singapore time, 6 May 2011.
http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/index.asp

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Posted by lee sze yong

MARUAH media monitoring: Day 6 (3 May 2011)

4 May 2011

Our findings on Day 6 are set out below. Note: there were no negative photos spotted in the 3 newspapers.

Coverage of each party (in column inches)

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Posted by lee sze yong

Your Vote is Your Voice

3 May 2011

“Is my vote really secret?”

That is the question on many Singaporeans’ minds. As part of our public education efforts, MARUAH has produced a video to explain to voters why their vote really is secret.

YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE

(WITH CHINESE SUBTITLES: 你的选票，你的声音)

(WITH MALAY SUBTITLES: SUARA ANDA ADALAH SUARA ANDA)

This video was put together by a team of volunteers. For the first time on video, Singaporeans from different walks of life come together to speak about their voting experiences. A former Straits Times journalist who had witnessed the actual destruction of the ballot papers from the 2006 General Elections also speaks about what he saw.

The video explains the voting process, and what happens to ballot papers after they are counted.