ELD apologises for long queues on Polling Day

The Elections Department (ELD) yesterday apologised for the inconvenience caused to voters on Polling Day, and pledged to conduct a thorough review of the factors that had slowed down the voting process last Friday.

Mr Koh Siong Ling, head of the ELD, said the department will study why, despite its best efforts, a number of polling stations continued to see long queues, which had started since morning.

As part of Covid-19 precautions, the 8am to noon time slot was reserved for voters aged 65 and above so that they could vote before others. At polling stations, voters had to put on disposable gloves and sanitise their hands before they received their ballot papers, but such measures also contributed to the longer queues.

Voting time was extended by two hours to 10pm.

Mr Koh was responding to a Forum letter published in The Straits Times yesterday. The writer had said it took almost an hour for him and his mother to cast their votes in the morning.