Campaigning for Singapore’s General Election 2025 officially ends as the Cooling-off Day begins on Friday (May 2), with all electioneering activities and new political advertising strictly prohibited until polls close on Saturday (May 3). Polling Day is set for Saturday, May 3, with voting hours from 8 am to 8 pm.
The Elections Department (ELD) reminds candidates and voters alike to observe the rules during this reflection period and on Polling Day. Key points include:
- Cooling-off Day (May 2): Bans all campaigning, new election advertising (including online sharing/reposting), rallies, walkabouts, canvassing, and publishing surveys/exit polls.
- Allowed on Cooling-off Day: News reports on election matters, approved traditional ads already displayed before May 2, lawful online ads published before May 2, and private communications within small groups of family and friends.
- Polling Day (May 3, 8 am-8 pm): Voters must bring their original NRIC/passport or digital NRIC/ePoll card via Singpass.
- Polling Station Conduct: Voters are prohibited from wearing or carrying items with images or symbols that could be seen as influencing others or canvassing support for any party or candidate. Non-compliance may result in being turned away.
- Transport & Parking: Public transport is encouraged. No parking is allowed at or near polling stations, though alighting points are provided for vulnerable/disabled voters.
Campaigning for this year’s General Election comes to a halt from midnight on Friday, May 2, marking the start of Cooling-off Day. This designated period, lasting until the close of polling on Saturday, May 3, imposes a strict blackout on all electioneering activities and the display or publication of new political advertising.
In a media release on Thursday, the Elections Department (ELD) stated that this period is intended to “provide time and space for voters to reflect rationally on issues raised during the election campaign before going to the polls.”
During the Cooling-off Period, banned activities include publishing and displaying new election advertising, sharing, resharing, reposting, or boosting online election advertising, and publishing election surveys and exit polls.
Election advertising encompasses any information reasonably intended to promote, support, or prejudice the electoral success of a candidate, group, or party, including material published online or shared in public chat groups to influence electoral standing.
Rallies (in-person or online), wearing/displaying campaign propaganda, canvassing, walkabouts, door-to-door visits, and visiting voters’ homes/workplaces in connection with the election are also prohibited.
Exceptions to the ban include reports on election matters in newspapers, on radio, and television, approved traditional election advertising already displayed before Cooling-off Day without alteration or relocation, lawful online advertising published before the start of Cooling-off Day, and private communications within closed chats or small groups of family and friends sharing election-related content.
Candidates and their supporters must comply with all relevant laws and avoid actions perceived as campaigning.
They should not make home visits or attend public events where they might attract attention for canvassing support. However, they may attend religious ceremonies, worship services, meetings, or other functions in the course of their regular work.
Polling stations will be open from 8 am to 8 pm on Saturday, May 3. The ELD advises voters to check their polling station’s queue status via the QR code on their poll card before heading out and suggests considering voting in the afternoon to avoid potential morning queues.
Crucially, voters are reminded not to wear or carry any items with images or symbols that could be perceived as influencing others or canvassing support for a political party, candidate, or group at the polling station.
This includes attire, bags, water bottles, soft toys, fans, and badges resembling or associated with a political party. Failure to comply may result in being turned away by election officials.
Voters must bring their original NRIC or passport and poll card, or show their digital NRIC and ePoll card via the Singpass app. They are encouraged to use the provided self-inking “X” stamps but may also use their own pens to mark their ballot.
In a separate advisory, the police urged voters to use public transport or walk to polling stations, as no parking is allowed at stations or on nearby roads, with indiscriminate parking subject to summons and towing.
Alighting points will be available for vehicles ferrying vulnerable or disabled voters. Priority queues and wheelchairs will be available, with election officials assisting voters. The police also advised the public not to loiter near polling stations after casting their votes.
