Singapore polling underway despite COVID-19 fears

ANKARA (AA) - Voters are heading to voting stations to cast their ballots in Singapore's parliamentary election Friday amid fear of the novel coronavirus pandemic, local media reported

Polling started at 8.00 a.m. (0000GMT) local time and set to close at 8.00 p.m. (1200GMT), according to TODAY news portal.

A total of 192 candidates are running for 93 parliamentary seats in the Southeast Asian city state.

Over 2.65 million registered voters are choosing their representative for parliament with strict safety measures are place.

Singapore has been one of the worst hit countries in the Asia-Pacific region, reported more than 45,000 cases so far.

The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is widely expected to retain power.

The PAP, which has governed Singapore since 1959, won 69.9% of total votes in previous elections in 2015, sweeping 83 out of the 89 contested seats.

The Workers' Party (WP) was the only opposition group to win seats in the last elections, securing the other six.

This time around, the total number of seats up for grabs has increased to 93, with 192 candidates running in the elections.

The PAP has fielded a candidate for every constituency, while the PSP has 24, the WP has 21 and the Singapore Democratic Party is in the running for 11 seats.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid