Voting in Singapore?

The difference between being a Permanent Resident of Singapore and being a Singapore Citizen is that citizens have the right to vote.  This is to a curious extent a theoretical distinction, because many, if not most Singaporeans can’t vote.  Note because of property requirements or intimidation at the polls, but because there’s nothing to vote for!  Singapore has been ruled by one party for many years, and there’s no coherent opposition.  So many precincts have only one person on the ballot, or are clear “walk-overs,” in which the outcome is certain before anyone has a chance to cast a ballot.

It’s apparently not all that hard to run for office in Singapore, but you have to put up some money as a bond.  If you don’t get a certain percentage of votes, you lose your money.  Discourages nut-cases, which is a good thing, but also discourages anyone without deep pockets and/or major connections to the current status quo.

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