ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic tested the legal, political, economic and public health systems of countries all over the world. Singapore – particularly as it found itself having to hold a general election in the middle of the pandemic – is no exception. However, whereas COVID-19 resulted in political upheaval and democratic backsliding in many countries, Singapore’s legal and political institutions generally proved resilient. It even seems that the pandemic threw up opportunities for democratic consolidation in Singapore as a result of increased citizen-state interactions during this time. Nevertheless, this democratic order is not to be taken for granted. Care must be taken to ensure that measures put in place during exceptional times do not result in the ‘permanence of the temporary’. Singapore will also need to do more to ensure that its most vulnerable migrant communities do not continue to disproportionately bear the burdens of the pandemic. Ultimately, the crisis should encourage Singapore to confront more fundamental questions as to the nature of its democracy and the identity of its political community.
