Socio-political website The Middle Ground (TMG) said yesterday that it had been served with a stern police warning for publishing the results of a poll it had conducted ahead of the Bukit Batok by-election on May 7.

In a post on its website, TMG said it had been told that it would be administered with “a stern warning in lieu of prosecution” for the offence of “publishing the results of an election survey during the prescribed blackout period”.

On May 6, TMG was instructed to take down a report that polled 50 residents on the political party they were likely to vote for, among other things, during the Bukit Batok by-election.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) said then that the TMG article, titled “BB BE: 50 voters in Bukit Batok”, contravened the Parliamentary Elections Act.

The MDA, on behalf of the election’s returning officer, later lodged a police report at Dover Neighbourhood Police Post.

Section 78C (1) of the Act forbids the publication of results of any election survey once the writ of election is issued and until voting closes. Anyone who breaches this clause could be fined up to S$1,500 and/or jailed up to 12 months. Under Singapore law, exit polls are also banned and offenders are subject to the same penalty.

The writ for the Bukit Batok by-election was issued on April 20.

The Elections Department (ELD) noted that in the TMG article dated May 5, its reporters surveyed 50 residents on their thoughts, including which party they were likely to cast their votes for, and why — and this contravened the Parliamentary Elections Act.

“The title of TMG’s article suggests that electors in the by-election were surveyed. A significant number of those polled indicated the candidate they would vote for, directly or indirectly. This is confirmed in a separate TMG article containing their response to the take-down notice, in which they stated that they asked Bukit Batok voters over the past week about how they would vote,” the ELD added.

TMG, which later took down the report from its website, had said that the article in question was not meant to be an election survey.

In the same month that TMG was issued the take-down order, police reports were filed against socio-political website The Independent Singapore and two individuals for publishing several online articles and postings that may have breached rules against “election advertising” on Cooling-off Day and Polling Day for the same by-election.

The two individuals are Ms Teo Soh Lung — who contested the 2011 General Election with the Singapore Democratic Party — and Mr Roy Ngerng, who stood for the Reform Party in Ang Mo Kio during last September’s General Election.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by TODAY Online

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