The Constitution also provides for the appointment of other deputies who have not been elected in an election. Up to six MPs from opposition parties that are not part of their constituency may be appointed. [37] There are currently two Members who do not belong to the riding. You can see that the president is the highest rank in the political hierarchy. This person should act explicitly on the advice of the Cabinet or a minister subordinate to the Cabinet (Morgenbesser 2016). The executive branch is represented by the Cabinet of Singapore. Parliament is the form of the legislator. Finally, the judiciary is represented by the Supreme Court: a head of the judiciary and other judges are appointed by the president (Tan 2012). Links to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for general information on the political environment in the country.
All national newspapers, radio stations and television stations are owned by government-affiliated companies. Editorials and news reports generally support state policies, and self-censorship is common, although newspapers sometimes publish critical content. The government uses racial or religious tensions and the threat of terrorism to justify restrictions on freedom of expression. The media, bloggers and public figures were subject to severe civil and criminal penalties for making statements deemed inflammatory, defamatory or harmful to religious sensitivities. Large online news sites must obtain licenses and respond to requests from regulators to remove banned content. However, foreign media and a growing number of domestic online media – including news sites and blogs – are widespread and offer alternative views, often publishing articles critical of the government or supporting independent activism. In September 2020, the election management authority filed a police report for „unlawful conduct of voting activities” against New Naratif, an independent online media outlet accused of publishing five paid ads on Facebook in July without the written permission of a candidate or his agent during the election campaign. Also throughout the year, including in the run-up to the elections, government officials repeatedly invoked POFMA to order the publication of corrective notices, in some cases targeting online media. The Government believes that the growth of e-commerce depends on transparent and market-friendly laws and regulations. Certain legal, regulatory and commercial frameworks are needed to support industry development and economic growth. As experts believe, the political risks for companies are low (Morgenbesser 2016). Compared to other Asian countries, the democratic form of government and the loyalty of the people to their government make Singapore a safer place to do business.
Independence brought not only the possibility of autonomous decision-making, but also political stability. People seem satisfied with the current state of affairs, and they will not ruin this system. Singapore has had compulsory voting since 1959[47] and universal suffrage. The legal voting age is 21. The Singapore Department of Elections is responsible for the planning, preparation and conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections as well as national referendums in Singapore. It is a department that reports to the Prime Minister`s Office. The fact that there is only one level of government in Singapore can be explained by its small territory. The political structure of the Republic of Singapore is hierarchical. It can be presented in descending order, with the most powerful political leaders or government bodies at the top and the least powerful at the bottom.
The e-commerce program was launched in 1996. The aim was to further develop e-commerce services. Singapore has taken initiatives in favour of e-commerce. There are cross-border laws and guidelines for e-commerce. Some basic legal and technical infrastructures have been in place since 1998 to ensure the security of electronic commerce. Some of them are the Electronic Transactions Act, Intellectual Property Rights, amendments to the Evidence Act, content regulation, tax matters, and import and export procedures. The law prohibits ethnic discrimination, although in some cases persons belonging to minorities may be discriminated against in private or public employment. Women enjoy the same legal rights as men on most issues, and many are well-trained professionals, but there is no legal prohibition of gender discrimination in the workplace. Singapore`s parliamentary political system has been dominated since 1959 by the ruling People`s Action Party (PAP) and the family of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The electoral and legal framework created by the PAP allows for a degree of political pluralism, but it limits the growth of opposition parties and restricts freedom of expression, assembly and association. The corporatist structure of the economy creates close ties between economic and political elites, which have been criticized as oligarchic.
These networks contribute to the political dominance of the PAP. Women remain underrepresented in high-level government and political positions, despite women candidates winning 27 of the 93 directly elected parliamentary seats in 2020, up from 21 out of 89 in 2015, and the president, who took office in 2017, is a woman. As of 2020, the cabinet included three women as full ministers. LGBT+ advocacy groups work and are generally tolerated, but they have no voice representation in parliament; An open LGBT+ identity can be an obstacle to elections in practice, partly because sexual relations between men remain a criminal offence. Government authorities have the greatest political power. Singapore is a unitary state and a parliamentary republic. Its current political system is linked to the past. In 1963, Singapore gained independence from the United Kingdom as part of Malaysia, and two years later, Singapore seceded from the latter; today it is a republic within the Commonwealth (Department for International Trade 2016). The new Westminster parliamentary system has been implemented; The unicameral parliament consists of the elected members of parliament and the appointed members of parliament. Each parliament can only meet for five years, after which new elections are scheduled; The last elections were held in 2015.
The President elected by Parliament is the Head of State. The last presidential elections were held in 2011. Singapore`s major sectors such as pharmaceutical and oil refining industries have the potential to attract other countries for investment. In this article, I will talk about the external factors that affect Singapore. I added a PESTLE analysis from Singapore. PESTLE is a commercial tool for the study of macro-environmental factors. It stands for political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors. Let`s see how each of these factors affects the country. As in the political system, the basis of Singaporean law lies in the English legal system, although there have been some significant changes. The Westminster Model is relevant to the legal system. It is possible to draw the sources of constitutional law, legislation, subsidiary legislation (e.g.
rules and regulations) and judicial law of Singapore (Kenyon, AT, Marjoribanks, T, & Whiting 2013). As the supreme law, the constitution provides the basic prerequisites. The PAP is the dominant political party in Singapore and has been continuously re-elected since 1959. It is headed by Lee Hsien Loong, who succeeded Goh Chok Tong. Goh`s predecessor, Lee Kuan Yew, was Singapore`s prime minister from independence until 1990. Since his resignation as premier, Lee has remained influential as chief minister and mentor minister. A frequently cited reason for the lack of opposition in Singapore is the PAP`s use of defamation suits to bankrupt political opponents and exclude them from the race when charges have been brought against the ruling party. [11] [12] The cases include the former head of WP J.