Declaration of election advertising by candidates or election agents
1E.—(1) During the campaign period of an election, election advertising (in the form of, but not limited to, any text, still or moving picture, sign, symbol or other visual image, or any speech, music, sound or other audible message) may be published by or on behalf of a candidate on a platform maintained by or on behalf of the candidate on the Internet if and only if the candidate or his election agent gives a declaration required under paragraph (2) in respect of that platform.
(2) A candidate or his election agent must give to the Returning Officer, in such form and manner as the Returning Officer may require —
(a)
within 12 hours after the start of the campaign period, one or more declarations containing the particulars (as described in paragraph (3)) of every platform maintained by or on behalf of the candidate on the Internet on which any election advertising has been or is to be published by or on behalf of the candidate during the campaign period; and
(b)
thereafter at any time before any election advertising is published during the campaign period by or on the candidate’s behalf on any other platform maintained by or on behalf of the candidate on the Internet, a declaration containing the particulars (as described in paragraph (3)) of that platform.
(3) A declaration under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) in respect of a platform must contain sufficient particulars of the platform to enable the Returning Officer —
(a)
where the platform is accessible by the general public, to access the platform; or
(b)
where the platform is not accessible by the general public (such as, but not limited to, electronic mail groups, groups on electronic media applications, groups on social networking services, SMS groups or MMS groups), to identify the person who maintains the platform.
(4) When any declaration under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) is received by the Returning Officer, he must without delay ensure that the declaration is open for inspection (without charge) at all reasonable hours of the day until the close of the poll in Singapore.
(5) To avoid doubt, in this regulation —
(a)
“candidate” does not include a candidate who has been declared elected under section 15(1) of the Act;
(b)
a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained or published by or on behalf of a candidate includes a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained or published by the candidate either alone or as part of a group of persons;
(c)
a reference to the publishing of an election advertising includes a reference to the publishing of anything that contains the election advertising; and
(d)
a declaration that is required to be given to the Returning Officer under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) is to be regarded as so given only when it is actually received by the Returning Officer.