Elections Department calls tender for infocomm tech services

This latest tender follows one tender the Elections Department called last month for bus transportation services. PHOTO: ST FILE

The Elections Department (ELD) yesterday called a tender for the provision of closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera and other information and communications technology (ICT) services to support election operations.

This latest tender follows one tender the ELD called last month for bus transportation services, and another about two weeks ago for the printing, packing and delivery of documents.

According to tender documents on government procurement portal GeBIZ, the scope of the contract comprises three main areas, including providing CCTV services.

The appointed contractor will have to lease, deliver, set up and manage ICT equipment such as notebooks, tablets, mobile Wi-Fi routers, USB keyboards, laser printers and LCD monitors.

Mobile broadband services will also have to be provided, including supplying and delivering SIM cards and USB mobile broadband devices.

The contract also entails conducting training for the ELD's IT staff and election officials.

The tender will close on Aug 15.

After it is awarded, the contract will remain in force for three years and may be extended yearly for not more than two years.

This contract period and any extension period will cover the next general election, presidential election and any by-elections.

However, a series of tenders does not necessarily signal that an election is imminent.

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, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the EBRC's formation to Parliament in July, two months after the committee had been appointed. The committee submitted its report to Mr Lee on July 21 that year, and the general election was called about a month later, on Aug 25.

When the House sat earlier this month, Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) filed a parliamentary question asking if the EBRC has been formed.

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, answering on behalf of Mr Lee, said that the Prime Minister has not yet appointed the EBRC.

The next general election must be held by April 2021.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 23, 2019, with the headline Elections Department calls tender for infocomm tech services. Subscribe