Partyforumseasia: Democracy comes at a price, campaigns are costly, and in most countries in the region, the campaign expenses of candidates are far from being disclosed to the public.The Punggol East (a suburb in the north of Singapore) by-election on 26 January 2013 made big waves because of the clear opposition win (Workers’Party’s Lee Li Lian with 54.52%) over the PAP candidate Dr. Koh Poh Koon with 43.71%.
Two months later, the Straits Times publishes today in detail the expenses of the four candidates. All of them spent much less than the regulations had allowed, i.e. S$ 3.50 per registered voter. At the end it was only a by-election, but one which has an impact on the public perception of the balance between ruling party and opposition.
Interesting: Some candidates hired helpers and assistants, and only the PAP funded its candidate’s expenses fully. The opposition candidates declared that they did not receive any donations.                                                                   Link: Straits Times, 28.3.13