I was listening to BBC sometime last week and was surprised that the
newscaster announced that the UK election will be held in 2010 (I had
forgotten if they mentioned any specific date). However with the
advance of then Internet, I google the UK election 2010 and great
wealth of related links appeared.
What makes me feel that the British, are more open about the election date as it can be found in their official website of the Electoral Commission.
UK Electoral Commision
A look at the "About Us" said a lot about the function of the Electoral Commission:
"We are an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the democratic process.
We work to:
* register political parties
* make sure people understand and follow the rules on party and election finance
* publish details of where parties and candidates get money from and how they spend it
* set the standards for running elections and report on how well this is done
* make sure people understand it is important to register to vote, and know how to vote
* make sure boundary arrangements for local government in England are fair"
(Source: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/about-us)
UK citizens living abroad can also vote via Post or Via Proxy! This sort of method of election is seem unthinkable in Singapore :)
The UK Electoral Commision even publish the latest possible date "Thursday 3 June 2010" in its website.
I clicked on the 2 PDF documents in the page, Parliamentary election
timetables & Election timetables in the United Kingdom, it will
tell the reader how the election commision come about setting of the
election and the processes if the PM calls for elections.
The Election Commision will give -27 Day prior to polling day. The various political Parties in UK have 27 days to prepare. (Election timetables in the United Kingdom - Report and recommendations Pg 5)
The UK Electoral Commision also publish its annual report in its website and can be found here.
Singapore Election Department
I looked at OUR Election Department and saw this:
"The Elections Department of Singapore (ELD) is a department under the Prime Minister’s Office.
It has the responsibility of planning and preparing for, and managing
the conduct of Presidential and Parliamentary elections and of any
national referendum in Singapore. The Department has under its purview
the Registry of Political Donations (RPD). The RPD administers the
Political Donations Act, the objective of which is to prevent foreign
interference in the domestic politics of Singapore through funding."
Fair and Square? I do not think so!
They
do not generate an Annual Report compared to that of UK. It will not be
necessary since its under the PMO's control. Any reports will be the
PM's eyes only right? I am not sure how the 66.6% look in the report in
2006, typeface 1?