GE2020: Lessons learnt from Singapore's first true Internet election

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While physical rallies were absent during the hustings for the recently concluded general election, some politicians did not seem to need them.

By the midpoint of the campaign, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) chief Tan Cheng Bock was able to reach out to 12,000 followers with each Instagram post – thrice the capacity of Clementi Stadium, where rallies for West Coast GRC were held in past elections.

The veteran politician wooed younger voters online by posting videos of himself responding to their attempts to educate him on slang terms like “woke”.

Dr Tan, who now has over 70,000 Instagram followers – more than local celebrities like TV personality Denise Keller and rapper Sheikh Haikel – was among the politicians who thrived in what experts have dubbed Singapore’s “first truly Internet election”.

Political parties have traditionally relied on mass rallies to rouse the electorate and drum up support.

But this time, restrictions on large gatherings due to Covid-19 measures saw the battle for hearts and minds take place mostly in the digital realm.

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