Application according to capacity
50.—(1) Without limiting section 2, this Part establishes a transparent system for donations for political purposes by creating certainty about who is making a political donation and by requiring the donor to be properly identified.
(2) To avoid doubt —(a)
an individual may at any one time be 2 or more of the following:(i)
a candidate;
(ii)
a Member of Parliament;
(iii)
a political office holder,
and this Part may impose duties or liabilities on the individual accordingly;
(b)
this Part may at any one time impose the same duty or liability on 2 or more individuals or persons, whether in the same capacity or in different capacities; and
(c)
a duty or liability imposed by this Part on any person is not diminished or affected by the fact that it is imposed on one or more other persons, whether in the same capacity or in different capacities.
Meaning of “political donation”
51.—(1) In this Act, “political donation”, in relation to a candidate at an election or the election agent of a candidate, means any of the following which is made to or for the benefit of a candidate (whether before or after he or she becomes a candidate) with a view to, or otherwise in connection with, promoting or procuring the candidate’s election at the election, or prejudicing the electoral prospects of another candidate at that election: (a)
any gift of money or other property to the candidate or the candidate’s election agent;
(b)
any money spent (otherwise than by the candidate as permitted by any other written law) in paying any expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by the candidate or by his or her election agent or any person authorised by the candidate’s election agent;
(c)
any money lent to the candidate or the candidate’s election agent otherwise than on commercial terms;
(d)
the provision otherwise than on commercial terms of any property, services or facilities (including the services of any person) to the candidate or the candidate’s election agent;
(e)
the provision of any sponsorship in relation to the candidate;
(f)
any voluntary labour or voluntary professional services carried out.
(2) In this Act, “political donation”, in relation to a political party, means any of the following made to or for the benefit of the political party:(a)
any gift of money or other property to the political party;
(b)
any money spent (otherwise than by the political party or a person acting on its behalf) in paying any expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by the political party;
(c)
any money lent to the political party otherwise than on commercial terms;
(d)
the provision otherwise than on commercial terms of any property, services or facilities for the use or benefit of the political party (including the services of any person);
(e)
the provision of any sponsorship in relation to the political party;
(f)
any subscription or other fee paid for affiliation to, or membership of, the political party;
(g)
any voluntary labour or voluntary professional services carried out.
(3) In this Act, “political donation”, in relation to a politically significant person who is a political office holder, means — (a)
any gift of money or other property;
(b)
any money spent (otherwise than by the political office holder as permitted by any other written law) in paying any expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by the political office holder;
(c)
any money lent to the political office holder otherwise than on commercial terms;
(d)
the provision otherwise than on commercial terms of any property, services or facilities (including the services of any person) to the political office holder;
(e)
the provision of any sponsorship in relation to the political office holder; or
(f)
any voluntary labour or voluntary professional services,
made to or carried out for the benefit of the political office holder, the whole or part of which was lawfully used or is intended to be lawfully used by the political office holder solely or substantially for a purpose related to the duties of the political office holder.
(4) In this Act, “political donation”, in relation to a politically significant person who is a Member of Parliament (whether or not also a political office holder), means —(a)
any gift of money or other property;
(b)
any money spent in paying any expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by the Member of Parliament;
(c)
any money lent to the Member of Parliament otherwise than on commercial terms;
(d)
the provision otherwise than on commercial terms of any property, services or facilities (including the services of any person) to the Member of Parliament;
(e)
the provision of any sponsorship in relation to the Member of Parliament; or
(f)
any voluntary labour or voluntary professional services,
made to or carried out for the benefit of the Member of Parliament, the whole or part of which was lawfully used or is intended to be lawfully used by the Member of Parliament solely or substantially for a purpose related to his or her duties as a Member of Parliament.
(5) In this Act, “political donation”, in relation to a senior political party official or a Part 4 politically significant person, means —(a)
any gift of money or other property;
(b)
any money lent to the senior political party official or the Part 4 politically significant person otherwise than on commercial terms; or
(c)
the provision otherwise than on commercial terms of any property, services or facilities (including the services of any person),
made to or carried out for the benefit of the senior political party official or the Part 4 politically significant person, the whole or part of which was used or is intended to be used by the senior political party official or the Part 4 politically significant person —
(d)
to enable the person to make, directly or indirectly, a political donation to another politically significant person;
(e)
to incur or defray expenditure for undertaking the person’s activities directed in whole or in part towards a political end in Singapore; or
(f)
to reimburse the person for making a political donation mentioned in paragraph (d) or incurring or defraying expenditure mentioned in paragraph (e).
(6) For the purposes of subsection (4), the duties of a Member of Parliament are his or her activities that relate —(a)
to the promotion of or opposition to any Bill, resolution, matter or thing submitted or intended to be submitted for the consideration of Parliament or any committee of Parliament;
(b)
to supporting or serving individuals registered as an elector for, or resident in, the constituency that the Member of Parliament is elected in;
(c)
to his or her party political duties; or
(d)
directly to his or her role as a Member of Parliament,
but do not include the duties of a Member of Parliament as a member of a Town Council or as a political office holder.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (3), the duties of a political office holder are his or her activities that relate —(a)
to the individual’s role as a holder of that political office; or
(b)
where the political office holder is also a Member of Parliament, that relate predominantly to the individual’s role as the holder of that political office.[Act 8 of 2023 wef 29/12/2023]
What is not a political donation
52.—(1) Despite section 51, the following are not political donations:(a)
any lawful transmission by a licensed broadcaster, free of charge, of a party political broadcast required under a condition of its licence;
(b)
any postage‑free election communications provided to candidates pursuant to any written law;
(c)
any grant or subsidy provided by the Government or a public authority to a politically significant person for the benefit of that person in his or her personal capacity;
(d)
the provision by an individual who is a citizen of Singapore of —(i)
the individual’s own services; or
(ii)
the incidental or ancillary use of vehicles or equipment under the individual’s control,
which the individual provides voluntarily and free of charge (even if they fall within the course of his or her normal work);
(e)
any interest accruing to a politically significant person in respect of any political donation which is dealt with by the politically significant person (as the case may be) in accordance with section 60(2).
(2) In the case of a candidate, the following are also not donations:(a)
any money or other property, or any services or facilities, provided out of public moneys for the personal security of the candidate;
(b)
where the candidate is a political office holder, any remuneration or allowances paid to the candidate in his or her capacity as such.
(3) In the case of a Member of Parliament or a political office holder, the following are also not donations:(a)
any money or other property, or any services or facilities, provided out of public moneys for the personal security of the Member of Parliament or a political office holder;
(b)
any remuneration or allowances paid to the Member of Parliament or a political office holder in his or her capacity as such;
(c)
any gift given to the Member of Parliament or a political office holder in his or her capacity as such, in the course of a visit or an event hosted by a foreign State and which is immediately surrendered to the Government.
(4) In subsection (1), a licensed broadcaster is a person who is licensed under the Broadcasting Act 1994 to provide broadcasting services.
Meaning of “reportable political donation”
53.—(1) In this Act, a “reportable political donation” is —(a)
in the case of disclosure under section 62 by a politically significant person — a political donation of or exceeding $10,000 (or a higher amount prescribed by Regulations in substitution) made to or for the benefit of that politically significant person; or
(b)
in the case of disclosure under section 70 by a major political donor — a political donation of or exceeding $10,000 (or a higher amount prescribed by Regulations in substitution) made to or for the benefit of a politically significant person.
(2) A political donation of less than an amount specified in subsection (1)(a) or (b) made by a person (called a donor) to a politically significant person must be treated as a reportable political donation of the politically significant person if —(a)
that political donation made by the donor in a reporting period to the politically significant person; and
(b)
another earlier, separate political donation made by that donor to the same politically significant person within the same reporting period,
would, if aggregated, constitute a reportable political donation under subsection (1)(a) or (b), as the case may be.
When is political donation accepted
54.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a political donation is accepted —(a)
by a candidate if it is received and retained by the candidate, or his or her election agent, for the purposes of the candidate’s election;
(b)
by an election agent of a candidate if it is received and retained by the election agent for the purposes of the candidate’s election; or
(c)
by any other politically significant person if it is received and retained by the politically significant person for the use and benefit of the politically significant person.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a political donation received by a politically significant person is treated as having been accepted by the person unless —(a)
the steps referred to in section 60(2)(a) or (b), whichever is applicable, have been taken within the time limited by that section; and
(b)
a record can be produced of the receipt of the donation and —(i)
of the required steps being taken in relation to the donation as mentioned in section 60(2)(a); or
(ii)
of the return of the donation, or the equivalent amount, as mentioned in section 60(2)(b).
(3) Without limiting section 15, for the purposes of this Act, anything given or transferred to —(a)
any branch of a political party or Part 4 politically significant entity; or
(b)
any officer, member or agent of a political party or a Part 4 politically significant entity in his or her capacity as such (and not for his or her political activities or his or her own use or benefit),
must be regarded as given or transferred to that political party or Part 4 politically significant entity (as the case may be), and references to donations received by a political party or Part 4 politically significant entity accordingly include references to donations so given or transferred.
Other definitions for Part 5
55.—(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —“early initial election” means the first election after the date this Part comes into force where the writ for the election is issued not more than 12 months after that date;
“permissible donor” means —(a)
an individual who is a citizen of Singapore and is at least 21 years of age;
(b)
in relation to a donation in the form of a bequest, an individual who was, at death, a citizen of Singapore and at least 21 years of age;
(c)
a Singapore entity which carries on business wholly or mainly in Singapore and is not prohibited by written law or its own constitution from donating or contributing for a purpose that is directed towards a political end in Singapore;
(d)
in relation to a donation in the form of voluntary labour, an individual who is a citizen of Singapore when performing that labour;
(e)
in relation to a candidate, the political party the candidate is standing for at an election; or
(f)
in relation to a political party, a candidate at an election who stands or who stood for that party;
“post‑election period”, for an election, means a period —(a)
starting —(i)
the date the declaration is made by the candidate under section 65 before nomination day at that election; or
(ii)
the date which is 2 clear days before nomination day at that election if no declaration mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i) is earlier made; and
(b)
ending on (and including) the 31st day after the results of the election are published;
“pre‑election period”, for an election, means a period of 12 months preceding —(a)
the date a declaration is made by the candidate under section 65 before nomination day at that election; or
(b)
a date which is 2 clear days before nomination day at that election if no declaration mentioned in paragraph (a) is earlier made;
“provision of sponsorship”, in relation to a candidate, political party, Member of Parliament or political office holder, means the transfer of any money or other property to the candidate, political party, Member of Parliament or political office holder —(a)
for the benefit of the candidate, political party, Member of Parliament or political office holder (as the case may be); and
(b)
the purpose (or one of the purposes) of the transfer is, or must, having regard to all the circumstances, reasonably be assumed to be —(i)
to help the candidate, political party, Member of Parliament or political office holder (as the case may be) with meeting, or to meet, to any extent any prescribed expenses incurred or to be incurred by or on behalf of the candidate, political party, Member of Parliament or political office holder; or
(ii)
to secure that to any extent the prescribed expenses in sub‑paragraph (i) are not so incurred;
“Singapore entity” means —(a)
a Singapore‑controlled corporation;
(b)
a Singapore‑controlled partnership; or
(c)
a Singapore‑controlled unincorporated association;
“Singapore‑controlled corporation” means a company incorporated in Singapore, the majority of whose directors and members are citizens of Singapore or, in the case of any member being another company, where that other company is incorporated in Singapore and the majority of whose directors and members are citizens of Singapore, and where that other company has a member who is a company which in turn has a member who is a company and so on, where each of those member companies is incorporated in Singapore and the majority of whose directors and members are citizens of Singapore;
“Singapore‑controlled partnership” means —(a)
a firm registered under the Business Names Registration Act 2014 in Singapore, the majority of whose partners are citizens of Singapore or one or more Singapore entities; or
(b)
a limited partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 2008 in Singapore;
“Singapore‑controlled unincorporated association” means an unincorporated association that —(a)
is formed in Singapore under any written law;
(b)
has an executive committee, the majority of whose members are citizens of Singapore; and
(c)
has a majority of members who are citizens of Singapore or Singapore entities.
(2) Where a political donation is made to any politically significant person by paying an amount into any account held by the politically significant person with a financial institution, then for the purposes of this Part, the political donation must be treated as having been received by the politically significant person at the time when the person is notified by the financial institution in the usual way of the payment into the account.
(3) Where a political donation confers an enduring benefit on any politically significant person during the whole or part of a relevant reporting period, the amount that must be recorded in any donation report required to be prepared under this Part is so much of the total value of the political donation (as determined in accordance with section 15) as accrues during the whole or part of that relevant reporting period to which the donation report relates.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
