Singaporeans overseas who have registered as voters can vote at polling stations in these 10 cities, the same 10 as in 2015: Beijing, Canberra, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo and Washington.

This time, due to the pandemic, voting will take place subject to the approval of the overseas authorities and the prevailing Covid-19 situation in those cities, the Elections Department (ELD) said in a statement yesterday.

The ELD will also make arrangements for returning Singaporeans on 14-day stay-home notices to vote.

Yesterday's statement comes after some Singaporeans overseas wrote to the ELD, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the embassies to air concerns about voting arrangements.

The ELD said that after consulting MFA and the Ministry of Health, Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui has decided that voting at those 10 overseas polling stations will proceed. The ELD is working with them to implement the necessary safety measures "to ensure that voting is safe for our overseas voters and election officials".

The 10 cities are all places where a significant number of Singaporeans are present. Details on the voting procedures will be sent to registered overseas voters after Nomination Day.

As for Singaporeans returning from overseas, the ELD will arrange for those serving the stay-home notice at hotels to vote at the hotels.

For those serving the stay-home notice at home, it will make arrangements for them to vote "while minimising exposure to other voters, candidates and election officials".

Details will be shared after Nomination Day.