2020 Serbian parliamentary election, Aftermath
The period of the state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was called the "campaign before the campaign", was strongly criticized. They noted irregularities, including serious ones such as parallel voter lists, the pressure to vote at all levels of elections, the presence of unauthorized persons at polling stations, conflicts at and in front of polling stations.


2020 Serbian parliamentary election, Aftermath
The OSCE announced in preliminary findings and conclusions that elections were conducted efficiently, despite the challenges of the pandemic, but that the concern was caused by the dominance of the ruling party, including in the media. They noted that many previous recommendations of the ODIHR had not been adopted, including on election administration, media, campaign financing, and sanctions for electoral violations. However, some recommendations were adopted, but "key amendments were passed in a swift manner and without prior consultations, limiting the inclusiveness of the process". Furthermore, the OSCE noted the lack of diversity of political opinions in traditional media and attacks or pressure on critical journalists and media outlets as well as possible meshing of the ruling party's campaign and media coverage of the response to the COVID-19 crisis.


2020 Serbian parliamentary election, Aftermath
Political scientist Florian Bieber stated that the Serbian Progressive Party overtook the United Russia party to become "the largest ruling party majority in Europe after Belarus" and that the European Union cannot pretend that a "farce of an election" did not happen in Serbia. The president of the European People's Party, Donald Tusk, as well as Sebastian Kurz, the chancellor of Austria, and Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, congratulated Vučić on his victory.


2020 Serbian parliamentary election, Aftermath
Kati Piri, the vice-chair of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats  (S&D) group, said that the election was not representative and that she is afraid "it won't change the erosion of the rule of law in the country", adding that "it should not be possible in a candidate country to the European Union". Tanja Fajon, the chair of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Serbia, stated that "the level of democracy has deteriorated significantly, let alone the situation of media freedom", citing that the absence of parliamentary opposition calls into question the legitimacy of parliament. In a joint statement, representatives of the S&D, Renew Europe and Greens–European Free Alliance, supported a request of the Serbian opposition to EU institutions to set up an expert group which would make a report "on the state and media capture", as the first step in resolving the political crisis.


2020 Serbian parliamentary election, Aftermath
The Assembly of Free Serbia, a project made by several professors, intellectuals and philosophers, has issued a press release saying that with the latest elections, "parliamentarism no longer exists in Serbia." The Assembly aims to form an opposition body which will elect its own members from the citizens and political parties with the aim of coordinating the opposition against Aleksandar Vučić.


2020 Serbian parliamentary election, Aftermath
In early May 2021, Vučić sent a proposal to Šapić about the merging of SPAS into SNS, which was accepted on the same day by Šapić. SPAS held inter-party talks during this period and its president Šapić announced that the party has been dissolved on 26 May.


2020 Serbian parliamentary election, Aftermath, Repeat elections
The Republic Electoral Commission announced that ballots from 234 voting locations would be terminated and elections would be repeated at those locations on July 1. Due to the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia, CRTA announced that it would not be observing the repeat elections.


2020 Serbian protests
On 7 July 2020, a series of protests and riots began over the government announcement of the reimplementation of the curfew and the government's allegedly poor handling of the COVID-19 situation, as well as being a partial continuation of the "One of Five Million" movement. The initial demand of the protesters had been to cancel the planned reintroduction of curfew in Serbia during July, which was successfully achieved in less than 48 hours of the protest. The protesters also demanded a more technical response to the COVID-19 crisis and more factual and constructive information about the ongoing medical situation. Among other causes, the protests were driven by the crisis of democratic institutions under Aleksandar Vučić's rule and the growing concern that the President is concentrating all powers in his hands at the expense of the parliament.


2020 Serbian protests, Background, COVID-19 pandemic mismanagement
On 7 July 2020, the day when protests began, Serbia saw its deadliest day yet during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia with 13 deaths. President Vučić said that situation in the capital city is alarming, and has announced that he is banning gatherings of more than 5 people and imposing a curfew from Friday 18:00 to Monday 5:00 local time.


2020 Serbian protests, Background, COVID-19 pandemic mismanagement
The Serbian Government has been accused of hiding true numbers of people infected and deaths from COVID-19. BIRN's research showed that in the period from 19 March to 1 June 2020, a total of 632 people died in Serbia who had tested positive for COVID-19 which is more than twice as many as the officially announced number of 244 deaths in that period. BIRN has learned that by analysing data obtained from the state's COVID-19 information system. The President has been accused of lifting the lockdown too early in order to hold parliamentary elections in which his party won by a landslide.


2020 Serbian protests, Background, COVID-19 pandemic mismanagement
During this period, large parties, sport events and gatherings happened and greatly increased the number of infected individuals. A big sport event was also held, a football game between Red Star and Partizan with tens of thousands people attending. A leading specialist in the COVID-19 Crisis Team, closely related to the ruling party in money schemes, has said that the sport events were not an epidemiological risk because "tickets were sold online" even though thousands attended without practising social distancing measures or wearing masks. After those events, Danas newspaper called for Serbian Government COVID-19 Crisis Team "to wake up from hibernation" and ban large gatherings. Serbian Government COVID-19 Crisis Team started consideration of reinforcement of COVID-19 measures one day after elections.


2020 Serbian protests, Background, Election fraud allegations
The leader of the opposition party Enough is Enough, Saša Radulović, has accused the ruling SNS of election fraud and said that numerous irregularities were recorded. Radulović has said the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) has repeatedly ignored the evidence of irregularities his party submitted and accused them of working in the ruling party's interest.


2020 Serbian protests, Background, Election fraud allegations
His movement had submitted 2,700 complaints and on 30 June, Radulović told the media the Administrative Court had formally accepted 175 complaints his party had submitted, saying that the voting must, therefore, be repeated in 2700 polling stations which makes one-third of all polling stations. He had accused the Electoral Commission of not observing the proper procedures while counting votes, stating that the ballot box content was not checked and the voting results were determined solely on the basis of ballot paper account forms.


2020 Serbian protests, Background, Election fraud allegations
Radulović has supported the protests and stated that his party's goal is to invalidate the election results and call for fresh elections. He has said that the goal of the protest should be to force the government to organise new elections.


2020 Serbian protests, Background, Election fraud allegations
He has submitted pleas to the Constitutional Court of Serbia and has threatened to file a report to the European Court of Human Rights if the Serbian courts don't overthrow the elections. Rule of law and the independence of the judiciary is seriously hindered, as assessed by the European Commission Report for Serbia 2019.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 7 July 2020, Belgrade
Locals, students, and members of the Do not let Belgrade d(r)own gathered in front of the National Assembly and peacefully protested. Many of them wore masks and observed social distancing rules. Just before 20:30, protesters started throwing rocks and bottles at the police, few torches were thrown, as well. Around 22:00, a large group stormed National Assembly building involving nationalists and anti-vaccine campaigner Srđan Nogo. As they entered the building, they shouted "Serbia has risen". Clashes occurred inside the building for 15 minutes.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 7 July 2020, Belgrade
Around 22:15, police managed to completely clear the building but clashes continued outside as police fired tear gas and used batons against protesters. Violent protests continued during the whole night. At least 24 people were injured. The protesters refused to withdraw and police brought in reinforcements during that night, many wearing riot shields, some with service dogs or on horses. The violence lasted until 03:00 in the morning, with police accused of using excessive force towards the protesters. During the live coverage, the regional TV channel N1 captured three police special force units in riot gear hitting three young men who were sitting on a bench with batons.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 7 July 2020, Kragujevac
Protesters peacefully marched through the city, no police was present.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 8 July 2020, Belgrade
Protesters gathered in the evening on the same place as yesterday, and violence continued between police and protesters. This time, police were reinforced by police cavalry and Gendarmery. During clashes with police, leader of Dveri Boško Obradović, was injured by the police. Who afterward said: "You can fight your people every day, it will be more of us, people won't stand this". He also called for Gendarmery to throw their shields and side with protesters. Sergej Trifunović, leader of the Movement of Free Citizens, tried to join the protests but he was pushed out by protesters and forced to leave.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 8 July 2020, Belgrade
He left after he was attacked by protesters and suffered a blow to the head. Protesters tried to occupy the National Assembly building again but this time were stopped by the Gendarmery and police cavalry. After failing to occupy the National Assembly building, protesters marched through the center of Belgrade, and clashes with police continued. Protesters also set police vehicles on fire.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 8 July 2020, Novi Sad
Thousands of protesters gathered around 18:00 in Novi Sad, where they demanded the resignation of the Serbian Government and President, as well as health officials and other members of the COVID-19 Crisis Management Group. Protesters demolished premises of the Serbian Progressive Party, broke window on RTV premise, and set the entrance to the City Hall on fire. Person who broke the window on RTV premise cut his leg while breaking the window. Protesters also damaged a nearby McDonald's restaurant. Protesters broke windows at the city hall and threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers through the broken windows. Police arrived on 22:00 when most of the damage was already done and most of the protesters left, the remaining protesters threw cans at police while police fired tear gas.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 8 July 2020, Niš
Protesters gathered at 19:00 and peacefully marched through the city. The protesters threw stones at the local SNS headquarters and tore down SNS posters, and threw eggs at the Vučić election poster.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 8 July 2020, Kragujevac
Protests in Kragujevac were peaceful until 22:00 when protesters threw eggs and cans on police, they afterward broke the window of the town hall and threw a torch through the broken window. Police fired tear gas at protesters after this. Soon afterwards most of the protesters left.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 8 July 2020, Smederevo
Protesters peacefully marched through the city and tore down one billboard of Aleksandar Vučić.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 9 July 2020
On 9 July, sit-ins were held in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Pančevo, Kragujevac, Smederevo, Kruševac, Čačak, Kraljevo, Vranje, Zrenjanin, Leskovac, Bor and Vršac. Some protestors called for a sit-in and for protestors to wear white t-shirts to represent opposition to recent violence on the protests, this call was accepted by most of the protestors. Protest was also attended by doctors from COVID-19 hospitals who demanded better handling of pandemic.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 9 July 2020
In Belgrade, thousands protestors sat in front of the National Assembly. At one point during the protest one group of right-wing protestors called others to stand up and fight which caused a minor clash between protestors, no one was injured and protests remained peaceful for the rest of the evening. A gendarmary officer was filmed setting a trash dumpster on fire, something which was heavily blamed on the protesters for "destroying city property." Protest ended around 1 am.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 9 July 2020
In Vranje, where around 100–120 citizens gathered, protestors tore down all SNS election posters.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 10 July 2020
In Belgrade, one protestor stabbed another protestor with a knife after a verbal confrontation between two groups of protestors. Excluding this incident protest remained peaceful until 9 pm when a group of right-wing protestors tried to break inside a National Assembly using firecrackers, they only managed to shatter glass on the main entrance before police intervened. Protestors clashed with the law enforcement for around 40 minutes, after the clashes ended peaceful protest continued. Around 11 pm clashes again erupted between police and protestors, police was reinforced by the gendarmary.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 10 July 2020
Police and gendarmary fired tear gas and pushed protestors away from the National Assembly in three different directions in order to disperse them, which turned out to be successful. At least 19 people were injured, including both protestors and law enforcement officers, and more than 70 more protestors were arrested, including a protester who stabbed another protester with a knife.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 10 July 2020
In Novi Sad, protestors blockaded multiple roads in the city. Around 8 pm they marched out of the city and blockaded E75 highway, protests remained peaceful.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 10 July 2020
In Zrenjanin, protestors blockaded bridge on the main road of the city, protest finished without incidents.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 10 July 2020
Peaceful protests were also held in Niš, Pirot, Vranje, Kruševac, Leskovac and Čačak.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 11 July 2020
Protests in cities across Serbia were peaceful. In Belgrade many protesters paid their respects to Ljubisav Đokić, better known by his nickname "Joe the Bulldozer Driver", who was part of protests in previous days and had died earlier that day. Antonije Davidović, a radical political activist and a former monk who was excommunicated from the Serbian Orthodox Church, made a speech in which he called for protesters to take off their masks, after which many of protesters left. Around 12:30 am, the police violently chased off and arrested several remaining peaceful protesters in front of the National Assembly in Belgrade. The same day in Niš, protesters gave the police a handful of flowers and the Serbian flag. Peaceful protests occurred throughout Serbia.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 12 July 2020
Peaceful protest marches were held in Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad, and Zrenjanin. Protests were attended by fewer people compared to previous days, police was present but there were no interventions.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 13 July 2020
Peaceful protests were held in Belgrade, Niš, Čačak, Zrenjanin, Novi Sad, and Kruševac.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 13 July 2020
In Belgrade two separate protests were held, one in front of the National Assembly and one in front of Belgrade central prison.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 13 July 2020
On protest in front of National Assembly protestors split in three groups; supporters of Srđan Nogo, supporters of Enough is Enough party, and third group who kept distance from other two groups.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 13 July 2020
Srđan Nogo presented his demands which were the following: release of all arrested protestors, stopping of all legal procedures against protestors, stopping of government formation according to 2020 election, introduction of accountability for all politicians by giving a single statement guaranteeing the implementation of their political program, creation of technical government which would be in power for one year, introduction of daily political debates on state media, and arrest of COVID-19 crisis staff members for their poor handling of pandemic. Leader of Enough is Enough party, Saša Radulović also presented his sole demand: impeachment of 2020 election. Third group of protestors was leaderless and gave no demands.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 13 July 2020
On protest in front of central prison two opposition parties were present: Democratic Party and Don't let Belgrade d(r)own. Protestors demanded release of all arrested protestors, as well as decrease in police funding in favour of increasing healthcare budget.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 14 July 2020
Protests were held in several cities across Serbia. In Belgrade two separate protests were held again on the same locations as protests on 13 July. In front of National Assembly protestors were again split, this time one new group emerged which was led Antonije Davidović, he and his supporters sung religious songs about Kosovo. After protest in front of central prison on 13 July ten protestors were released from prison, protest in front of central prison was again held with goal of all protestors being released.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 14 July 2020
Several organisations sued Serbian law enforcement for use of excessive force on protests, urgent appeal was sent to United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 15 July 2020
Protests were held in several cities across Serbia but with least people present since the beginning. Protests in Serbian diaspora started in more countries.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 16 July 2020
Peaceful protests were held in front of National Assembly in Belgrade and main police station in Novi Sad.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 17 July 2020
Peaceful protest was held in Belgrade, protestors demanded clarification of allegations that 7 police dogs died of poisoning by tear gas during the riots, police denied the allegations.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, 17 July 2020
Petition for punishment of those responsible for use of excessive force on protests by the law enforcement which was sent to United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and European Union reached 4000 signatures.


2020 Serbian protests, Timeline, Protest against the constitution of a new assembly 3 August 2020
The last major protest occurred in Belgrade in front of the Parliament building while the new members of the parliament were being sworn in. During that day, protest leader Srđan Nogo and one of his followers were arrested by the police and charged with inciting sedition under article 309 of the Criminal Code of Serbia. A video of Antonije Davidović throwing eggs on the Parliament building while wearing a Christian cassock went viral, with many media outlets pointing out that Davidović is not really a priest nor a member of any recognised church or religious organisation in Serbia.


2020 Serbian protests, Peaceful protests, Social protests, 5 October 2020
Students organised a protest in front of Ministry of Education headquarters after not being met with assistant minister of education, despite being promised a meeting with him. Nemanjina Street was blockaded for 3 hours by the protestors.


2020 Serbian protests, Peaceful protests, Social protests, 2–26 December 2020
Between 2 and 26 December 2020 owners and workers of small businesses held several protests in front of ministry of finance demanding financial help, they received no response.


2020 Serbian protests, Peaceful protests, Social protests, 2–26 December 2020
During the protest on 26 December one protestor got sick and fell on the ground, another protestor tried to help him until ambulance arrived, he died while in an ambulance vehicle. Protest was ended early and further protests weren't held after this event.


2020 Serbian protests, Police brutality
Few journalists who were documenting protests on the night of 7 July 2020 said that police brutality was present. Non -government organisation Belgrade center for human rights built two legal cases against policeman for police brutality. Around 23:30 on 7 July 2020, police beat up Beta journalist with truncheons even though he showed the journalist legitimisation, they continued to hit him even after he fell on the ground. Minister of Interior Nebojša Stefanović said police acted violently only when it was forced to.


2020 Serbian protests, Police brutality
Pictures of excessive force by police were shared across social media, one of an arrested protester lying on the ground with a policeman pressing his boot on his head. During that night opposition parties, who had boycotted the parliamentary elections held a few weeks earlier, condemned the regime's use of force and called the authorities to take action against the policemen responsible for the excessive force, also calling citizens to meet the next day again at the same location.


2020 Serbian protests, Police brutality
The day after the protest, government officials condemned the protesters' behaviour as "scandalous". The chief of police Vladimir Rebić justified the police action by stating that the use of teargas was proportionate. Serbian PM Brnabić insisted that the state order would be preserved. The minister of defence Aleksandar Vulin labelled the protest as a coup d'état intended to allow various punks, extremists and fascists to take over the government without elections and with no agenda beyond violent overthrow of the government.


2020 Serbian protests, Police brutality
Vucic appeared on a TV show, where he showed pictures of wounded policemen and accused the protesters of being violent. He stated that there would be no curfew for the weekend, although he would preferred to impose one. Regarding police brutality, he accused the protesters of being hostile, and accused the three men on the bench of attacking the police, prompting them to respond in self-defence. He also accused foreign intelligence agencies in the region of organising the protest.


2020 Serbian protests, Police brutality
The next evening police were again seen using excessive force towards the protesters. A new video circulated on social media in which a man was beaten by a crowd of policemen while lying on the ground, the policemen kicking and beating the man repeatedly. Other footage showed a police officer kneeling to tie his shoe next to an arrested and handcuffed protester lying face-down, while another officer slapped the protester in the face. Journalists from NOVA S were again attacked by riot police, despite making it clear that they are members of the press.


2020 Serbian protests, Police brutality
The same day, Vulin ordered an elite military unit known as the 63rd parachute brigade to intervene in Niš because of a lack of police forces in the town. The military refused to intervene, stating that it was not their duty to intervene in such events, that the military enjoys respect and trust among the population, and that their duties are explained in the constitution. A new video emerged after the protests showing a police officer setting a garbage bin on fire.


2020 Serbian protests, Police brutality, Involvement of the armed forces
On 9 July 2020, several news outlets reported that the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin had ordered the 63rd Parachute Brigade to clear peaceful protesters in Niš, but the Brigade commander has refused to carry on the order. The claim was denied by the Serbian Ministry of Defence saying that would go against the Constitution of Serbia as well as the existing Military Code.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, Aleksandar Vučić
After the first protests on 7 July, the president said that in the protests "there was not only criminal factors but also foreign factors as well". He also called these protests "the worst political violence in the past few years". Vučić accused Russia of organising the protests. The same day he declined a meeting with Russian ambassador Bocan-Harchenko. Many government critics have suggested that this was an alibi for the west for not making progress in the Kosovo negotiations. Later the Russian ambassador responded to the accusations of intervention on Twitter, mainly by CEAS (The Center of Euro-Atlantic Studies), stating that their accusations were absurd, accused them of Russophobia, and also criticising domestic media outlets for spreading such a statement.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, Aleksandar Vučić
On 8 July, he called the protests an act of terrorism, he also said the protests "don't bother him at all". On 10 July, Vučić blamed Croatia for the riots. Vučić has blamed the spike of COVID-19 on the protesters and has dissed them as "fascists, right-wingers, conspiracy theorists and flat-Earthers" and etcetera.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, Aleksandar Vulin
The Serbian Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin said that a special war is waged against the Army and the country by fake news. He also called protests on 8 July "an attempt to start a civil war"


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, United States
The United States Embassy in Serbia had issued a press release stating that they are concerned with violence against the police officers, as well as targeted police brutality against peaceful protesters. They further stated that the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are a vital point of any democracy, and that Serbia must work on its freedom of media and rule of law.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, European Union
Sem Fabrizi, ambassador of the EU to Serbia, said that Brussels is worried by recent riots in Serbia.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, Russia
Following the allegations about Russian involvement in the ongoing protests in certain Serbian media close to the ruling party, the Russian ambassador to Serbia denied these claims and stated on his Twitter account that the allegations are 'unfounded' 'absurd' and 'twisted'.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, Russia
The Russian Foreign Ministry followed up with a statement in which they called the allegations of Russian involvement in the protests as 'fake' and had the aim of 'casting a shadow on Serbian-Russian partnership'.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, Serbian Interior Ministry
On 27 October 2020, the Serbian Interior Ministry mentioned that they were still investigating police attacks on journalists that happened on 8 July 2020.


2020 Serbian protests, Responses and reactions, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, said that the police didn't use enough force and that it should've used live bullets.


2020 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
The 2020 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana was a women's cycle stage race held in Spain from 20 to 23 February, 2020. The Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, being held for the fourth time, was held as a UCI rating of 2.2 race.


2020 Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer team
The 2020 Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer team represented Seton Hall University during the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season and the 2020 Big East Conference men's soccer season. The 2020 season was Andreas Lindberg's third year as head coach for the program.


2020 Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer team
Seton Hall won the Big East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament for the first time since 1992, and qualified for the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament for the first time since 2005.


2020 Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer team, Background
Seton Hall finished the 2019 season with a 6–9–1 (3–5–1) record. They did not qualify for the Big East or NCAA Tournaments.


2020 Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer team, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the season
On August 12, 2020, the Big East Conference suspended all fall sports including men's soccer, with plans to reconvene in the spring of 2021.


2020 Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer team, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the season
On November 4, 2020, the NCAA approved a plan for college soccer to be played in the spring.


2020 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
The 2020 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali was a road cycling stage race that took place between 1 and 4 September 2020 in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It was the 35th edition of the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali and was part of the 2020 UCI Europe Tour as a category 2.1 event.


2020 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
The race was originally scheduled to be held from 25 to 29 March, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation. However, in May, with the new UCI post-lockdown racing calendar, the race was rescheduled for 1 to 4 September.


2020 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, Teams
Nine UCI WorldTeams, eleven UCI ProTeams, and eight UCI Continental teams made up the twenty-eight teams that participated in the race. Of these teams, Giotti Victoria, with five riders, was the only one to not enter the maximum allowed of six riders. 117 of the 167 riders to start the race finished.


2020 Seychellois general election
General elections were held in Seychelles on 22–24 October 2020 to elect the President and members of the National Assembly. The National Assembly elections had been due in 2021, but in July 2020 were brought forward by President Danny Faure in order to hold them together with the presidential elections, a proposal supported by opposition parties.


2020 Seychellois general election
The presidential elections were won by Wavel Ramkalawan of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), with the LDS also increasing its majority in the National Assembly, winning 25 of the 35 seats.


2020 Seychellois general election
In this election, first Hindu member of Seychelles National Assembly-Satya Naidu was elected.


2020 Seychellois general election, Electoral system
The President of Seychelles is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round is held between the top two candidates.


2020 Seychellois general election, Electoral system
Members of the National Assembly are elected by two methods; 26 (with a new constituency established in 2020) are elected from single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting, and up to a further ten are elected based on the percentage of votes received by each party; for each 10% of the total national vote received, a party gets one additional seat.


2020 Seychellois general election, Presidential campaign
In August 2019 the United Seychelles Party nominated its leader and incumbent president Danny Faure as its candidate during its thirty-third annual congress. Wavel Ramkalawan from the liberal  Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) and Alain St. Ange from the progressive One Seychelles Party (founded on 26 April 2019 and registered on 12 June 2019) are challenging the incumbent. While former speaker of national assembly Patrick Pillay sought nomination, the election commission rejected his candidacy on the ground that he failed to collect the required 500 signatures from registered voters.


2020 Seychellois general election, Presidential campaign
While the country recorded only 149 (mostly imported) COVID-19 cases, public health directives still impacted the campaign. For instance, public election rallies were banned. Since there are no active polling institutes, rally attendance had been used to measure support in previous elections. However, the candidates were active in social media, and also participated in the country's first televised presidential debate. The economy was a major campaign issue due to the high cost of living and recent reduction in tourism. While Transparency International ranks Seychelles as one of the 30 least corrupt countries in the world, the incumbent government was considered too accommodating to offshore business interests.


2020 Seychellois general election, Results
On 25 October, Wavel Ramkalawan was declared the winner of the presidential election with 54.91% of the vote, marking the first peaceful transfer of presidential power between different political parties since independence in 1976. He had run unsuccessfully in the presidential elections from 1998 onward. Danny Faure attended Ramkalawan's victory speech; in his speech, Ramkalawan emphasized reconciliation: "In this election, there were no losers, there were no winners — our country was given the opportunity as the ultimate winner."


2020 Shady Rays 200
The 2020 Shady Rays 200 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on July 9, 2020 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. Contested over 136 laps -- extended from 134 laps due to an overtime finish -- on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 14th race of the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Team Penske's Austin Cindric won his first race of the season.


2020 Shady Rays 200
The Shady Rays 200 replaced New Hampshire Motor Speedway's date for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first of two races for the Xfinity Series at Kentucky.


2020 Shady Rays 200, Report, Background
Kentucky Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned Kentucky Speedway until 2008. The speedway has a grandstand capacity of 117,000. Construction of the speedway began in 1998 and was completed in mid-2000. The speedway has hosted the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Xfinity Series, IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, and most recently, the NASCAR Cup Series beginning in 2011.


2020 Shady Rays 200, Report, Background
The race was held without fans in attendance due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Shady Rays 200, Qualifying
Noah Gragson was awarded the pole for the race as determined by a random draw.


2020 Shady Rays 200, Media, Television
The Shady Rays 200 was carried by FS1 in the United States. Adam Alexander, Stewart-Haas Racing driver Clint Bowyer, and Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus called the race from the Fox Sports Studio in Charlotte, with Jamie Little covering pit road.


2020 Shady Rays 200, Media, Radio
The Performance Racing Network (PRN) called the race for radio, which was simulcast on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.


2020 Shanghai Dragons season
The 2020 Shanghai Dragons season was the third season of the Shanghai Dragons's existence in the Overwatch League and their first under head coach Moon Byung-chul. The Dragons planned to host two homestand weekends in the 2020 season at XinYeFang Studio in Shanghai's Jing'an District. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the all homestand events were cancelled by the league.


2020 Shanghai Dragons season, Preceding offseason, Organizational changes
In September 2019, the Dragons parted ways with head coach We "BlueHaS" Seong-hwan and assistant coach Jeong "Levi" Chung-Hyeok. The team promoted Moon Byung-chul, who was the head coach of the Dragons' academy team Team CC, to the head coach of the Dragons. In November, it was announced that the Dragons signed Dong-soo "Dongsu" Shin and former London Spitfire coach former Los Angeles Valiant coach Jeong-min "Jfeel" Kim as assistant coaches.


2020 Shanghai Dragons season, Preceding offseason, Roster changes
The Dragons enter the new season with one free agent, seven players which they have the option to retain for another year, and two players under contract. The OWL's deadline to exercise a team option is November 11, after which any players not retained will become a free agent. Free agency officially began on October 7.


2020 Shanghai Dragons season, Preceding offseason, Roster changes, Acquisitions
The Dragon's first pick up of the offseason was announced on November 12 with the acquisition of DPS Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun from the Seoul Dynasty. The team announced their full roster on November 26, which included the additions of main tank Seo "Stand1" Ji-won from Gladiators Legion, former Los Angeles Gladiators off-tank Kang "Void" Jun-woo, support Lee "LeeJaeGon" Jae-gon from RunAway, and DPS Lee "LIP" Jae-won from Blossom. The team promoted tank player Lee "Fearless" Eui-seok from their academy team Team CC on January 19.


2020 Shanghai Dragons season, Preceding offseason, Roster changes, Departures
The Dragon's first departure was on October 23, when they chose not to exercise their option to retain DPS Jin "YOUNGJIN" Young-jin. Shanghai announced that they would not re-sign their only free agent, Noh "Gamsu" Young-jin, on November 4. Four days later, support Son "CoMa" Kyung-woo was released from the team. The Dragons announced on January 19 that off-tank player Lee "Envy" Kang-jae was released from the team.


2020 Shanghai Dragons season, Homestand events
In August 2019, the Dragons announced that they would hold two homestand events; both were to be held at XinYeFang Studio in Shanghai's Jing'an District. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dragons decided to relocate their team to South Korea with no specific return time. Additionally, the league cancelled all February and March matches planned in China, which cancelled the Dragons's first homestand on February 15 to 16. The cancelled matches will be rescheduled for later in the season. The Overwatch League announced that the cancelled homestand events in China would be rescheduled for Weeks 5 through 7 in a studio in Seoul, South Korea; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, these matches were cancelled as well.


2020 SheBelieves Cup
The 2020 SheBelieves Cup was the fifth edition of the SheBelieves Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held in the United States.


2020 SheBelieves Cup
Featuring national teams from Spain, England, Japan, and hosts United States, it began on March 5 and ended on March 11, 2020, making it the last soccer tournament in the United States to be completed before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all professional sports in the country. Apart from hosts United States, England were the only other team to have featured in every tournament. 2020 was Japan's second appearance following their debut in 2019, while it was the first time Spain has taken part.


2020 SheBelieves Cup, Format
The four invited teams played a round-robin tournament. Points awarded in the group stage followed the formula of three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. A tie in points would be decided by goal differential; other tie-breakers are listed below.


2020 SheBelieves Cup, Goalscorers
There were 13 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 2.17 goals per match.


2020 SheBelieves Cup squads
This article lists the squads for the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, the 5th edition of the SheBelieves Cup. The cup consisted of a series of friendly games, and was held in the United States from 5 to 11 March 2020. The four national teams involved in the tournament registered a squad of 23 players.


2020 SheBelieves Cup squads
The age listed for each player is on 5 March 2020, the first day of the tournament. The numbers of caps and goals listed for each player do not include any matches played after the start of tournament. The club listed is the club for which the player last played a competitive match prior to the tournament. The nationality for each club reflects the national association (not the league) to which the club is affiliated. A flag is included for coaches that are of a different nationality than their own national team.


2020 SheBelieves Cup squads, Squads, England
The final squad was announced on 18 February 2020. On 26 February 2020, Lucy Bronze withdrew due to calf injury and was replaced by Alessia Russo.


2020 SheBelieves Cup squads, Squads, Japan
The squad was announced on 25 February 2020; Riko Ueki replaced Rikako Kobayashi due to injury on 1 March 2020.


2020 SheBelieves Cup squads, Squads, Spain
The final squad was announced on 24 February 2020. On 2 March 2020, Nahikari García was withdrawn due to a recurring foot injury and replaced with Alba Redondo.


2020 SheBelieves Cup squads, Squads, United States
A 26-player preliminary squad was announced on 17 February 2020. The final squad was announced on 26 February 2020, with Jane Campbell, Jordan DiBiasi, and Margaret Purce not making the final squad.


2020 Shelbourne F.C. season
In 2020, Shelbourne F.C. competed in the League of Ireland Premier Division for the first time since 2013. They were promoted in the 2019 season, having finished top of the first division. For a second season running, Shelbourne were under the management of Ian Morris. In October 2019, shortly after the end of the previous season, Shelbourne released a new jersey ahead of the 2020 season which emulated the style of the 1960s jersey used by the club. This was part of marking the pending 125th anniversary of the founding of the club.


2020 Shelbourne F.C. season, Overview
On March 12th the Football Association of Ireland announced the sudden postponement of football under their rule including the League of Ireland premier division due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant the postponement of Shelbourne F.C. fixtures too. This was initially set as a postponement until March 29th but was later extended. Shels finished in 9th position in the league, forcing them into a promotion/relegation play-off with Longford Town. They lost this fixture which condemned them back to the First Division.


2020 Shelbourne F.C. season, Overview, FAI Cup
Shelbourne received a first round bye. The draw for the second round took place on 12 August 2020 and was broadcast live on the  with Republic of Ireland senior manager Stephen Kenny conducting proceedings.


2020 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships
The 2020 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2020 ITF Women's World Tennis Tour. It took place in Kyoto, Japan between 17 and 23 February 2020.


2020 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2020 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships – Doubles
Eri Hozumi and Moyuka Uchijima were the defending champions  but chose to participate with different partners. Hozumi partnered Mana Ayukawa, but lost in the first round to Wu Fang-hsien and Zhang Ying.


2020 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships – Doubles
Uchijima played alongside Erina Hayashi and successfully defended the title, defeating Hsieh Yu-chieh and Minori Yonehara in the final, 7–5, 5–7, [10–6].


2020 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships – Singles
Ylena In-Albon was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2020 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships – Singles
Xun Fangying won the title, defeating Indy de Vroome in the final, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(8–6).


2020 Shire massacre
The Shire massacre was a mass extrajudicial killing that took place in Shire Inda Selassie (Tigrinya: ሽረ) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia during the Tigray War, on 15-17 November 2020. Shire is the capital city of the Northwestern zone of Tigray.


2020 Shire massacre, Massacre
Soldiers of the Eritrean Defence Forces killed 200 civilians in Shire (Northwestern Tigray) on 17 November 2020. Days later, Ethiopian state television broadcast a fiery exchange between civilians in Shire, and Ethiopian soldiers, who had recently arrived in the area. The Tigrayan elders spoke in vivid detail of the horrors that had befallen the town since the outbreak of war. Residents had been slaughtered like chicken  by Eritrean troops, the elders said, their corpses abandoned to be “eaten by hyenas”. They also spoke of rampant looting and vandalism: “All government assets have been destroyed and looted.”


2020 Shire massacre, Massacre
Typical massacres committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers in the Tigray war are (1) revenge when they lose a battle; (2) to terrorise and extract information about whereabouts of TPLF leaders; (3) murder of suspected family members of TDF fighters and (4) terrorising the Tigray society as a whole such as in case of mass killings in churches. The Shire massacre essentially falls in the last category.


2020 Shire massacre, Perpetrators
Local elders and “The Guardian” interpreted the identity of the perpetrators as Eritrean soldiers.


2020 Shire massacre, Reactions
The massacre was reported in detail on Ethiopian television and in “The Guardian”. The “Tigray: Atlas of the humanitarian situation”, that documented this massacre received international media attention, particularly with regard its Annex A, that lists the massacres.


2020 Shpageeza Cricket League
The 2020 Shpageeza Cricket League was the seventh edition of the Shpageeza Cricket League, a professional Twenty20 cricket (T20) league established by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in 2013, and the third edition to have official T20 status. Following a request to the Ministry of Public Health due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was given approval in July 2020 to take place. The ACB also confirmed that is was their priority to run a successful tournament.


2020 Shpageeza Cricket League
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from 13 to 25 September 2020, with the matches being played at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium. However, the tournament was moved forward by one week, to avoid clashing with the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), which itself had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Six teams took part in the tournament, and the Mis Ainak Knights were the defending champions.


2020 Shpageeza Cricket League
On 20 August 2020, a players' draft took place ahead of the tournament. The ACB also stated that all Afghan players taking part in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) should return to Afghanistan before the CPL is due to conclude, so they can be available to play in the Shpageeza Cricket League. However, after talks with the President of Cricket West Indies, it was decided that these players could finish the CPL before returning, while the players with IPL contracts would miss the tournament completely.


2020 Shpageeza Cricket League
The opening match of the tournament saw the Mis Ainak Knights beat the Band-e-Amir Dragons by one run, with the Knights managing to defend 13 runs from the final over of the game.


2020 Shpageeza Cricket League
The Kabul Eagles, Mis Ainak Knights, Band-e-Amir Dragons and Boost Defenders finished in the top four places in the group stage to progress to the knockout phase of the tournament. In the first qualifier, the Kabul Eagles beat the Mis Ainak Knights by four wickets. Therefore, the Eagles progressed directly to the final, with the Knights moving to the second qualifier match. In the eliminator match, the Band-e-Amir Dragons beat the Boost Defenders by 76 runs to join the Knights in the second qualifier match. The second qualifier saw the Mis Ainak Knights beat the Band-e-Amir Dragons by five wickets, to join the Kabul Eagles in the final. In the final, the Kabul Eagles beat Mis Ainak Knights by nine runs to win the tournament.


2020 Sibiu Cycling Tour
The 2020 Sibiu Cycling Tour was a men's road bicycle race which took place from 23 to 26 July 2020 in and around the city of Sibiu, Romania. The race was a 2.1-rated event as part of the 2020 UCI Europe Tour and is made up of five stages. This race was the 10th edition of the Sibiu Cycling Tour.


2020 Sibiu Cycling Tour, Teams
Twenty-two teams participated in the race, including two UCI WorldTeams, three UCI ProTeams, sixteen UCI Continental teams, and one national team. Each team entered six riders, with the exception of Bardiani–CSF–Faizanè, Cycling Team Friuli, and Team Novak, which each submitted five riders. 129 riders started the race, of which 104 finished.


2020 Sibiu Open
The 2020 Sibiu Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2020 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Sibiu, Romania between 21 and 27 September 2020.


2020 Sibiu Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2020 Sibiu Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw using a protected ranking:


2020 Sibiu Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw as an alternate:


2020 Sibiu Open – Doubles
Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul were the defending champions but chose not to defend their title.


2020 Sibiu Open – Doubles
Hunter Reese and Jan Zieliński won the title after defeating Robert Galloway and Hans Hach Verdugo 6–4, 6–2 in the final.


2020 Sibiu Open – Singles
Danilo Petrović was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2020 Sibiu Open – Singles
Marc-Andrea Hüsler won the title after defeating Tomás Martín Etcheverry 7–5, 6–0 in the final.


2020 Sigerson Cup
The 2020 Sigerson Cup was the 110th staging of the Sigerson Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1911. It was sponsored by Electric Ireland, and known as the Electric Ireland HE GAA Sigerson Cup for sponsorship purposes.


2020 Sigerson Cup
The draw for the eight first round fixtures took place on 4 December 2019.


2020 Sigerson Cup
2019 winners UCC met NUI Galway in the tie of the first round, while defeated finalists St Mary's were drawn against Maynooth University. 2018 champions UCD met UUJ. Eventual 2020 champions DCU met Garda College, while the remainder of the ties largely involved an assortment of institutes of technology and polytechnics. Play began on 11 January 2020, with Queen's University Belfast winning their first round tie.


2020 Sigerson Cup
DCU won the final, played on 29 January in Dublin.


2020 Silverstone Formula 2 round
The 2020 Silverstone FIA Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races involving Formula 2 cars that took place on 1 and 2 August 2020 at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, Great Britain. The event is the fourth round of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship and ran in support of the 2020 British Grand Prix.


2020 Silverstone Formula 3 round
The 2020 Silverstone FIA Formula 3 round is a motor racing event held on 1 and 2 August 2020 at the Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, United Kingdom. It was the fourth round of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and ran in support of the 2020 British Grand Prix.


2020 Silverstone Formula 3 round, Entries
Enaam Ahmed left Carlin Buzz Racing due to sponsorship reasons, which caused Ben Barnicoat to make an unexpected return to single-seaters.


2020 Silverstone Formula 3 round, Classification, Qualifying
The Qualifying session took place on 31 July 2020, with Logan Sargeant scoring his first pole position in Formula 3.


2020 Simona Halep tennis season
The 2020 Simona Halep tennis season officially began on 5 January 2020 at the Sydney International. Simona Halep entered the season as the No. 6 ranked player in the world and finished the year ranked as the No. 2 ranked player in the world and the most titles among the WTA players (3).


2020 Singapore Community Shield
The 2020 Singapore Community Shield (also known as the AIA Community Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 8th edition of the Singapore Charity Shield held on 22 February 2020 at Jalan Besar Stadium, between 2019 Singapore Cup winner Tampines Rovers and Hougang United. Hougang replaces 2019 Singapore Premier League champions DPMM FC who skipped the game due to precautionary travel restrictions because of the coronavirus situation.


2020 Singapore Community Shield
The Rovers won the Shield for a record fifth time after defeating Hougang United 3–0.


2020 Singapore Premier League
The 2020 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 3rd season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its rebranding in 2018. The champions of the 2020 Singapore Premier League qualified for the AFC Champions League group stage automatically.


2020 Singapore Premier League
DPMM FC were the defending champions, but withdrew from the league prior to the season re-starting in October 2020. The league was won by Albirex Nigata (S) on the last matchday after beating Hougang United 1-0. Tampines Rovers qualified for the AFC Champions League as the highest ranked local team while Lion City Sailors and Geylang International qualified for the AFC Cup.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Format
The following key changes were made to the rules for the 2020 season:


2020 Singapore Premier League, Format, Disruptions due to COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore and more generally in Southeast Asia, the season was halted from 27 March.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Format, Disruptions due to COVID-19
The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth approved the season recommencement on 17 October. Competition rule changes included the provision for two water breaks during a match, and clubs will be able to use up to five substitutions (in defined windows after half-time).


2020 Singapore Premier League, Format, Disruptions due to COVID-19
On 26 October 2020, DPMM FC withdrew from the league due to travel restrictions.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Teams
A total of 8 teams competed in the league. Albirex Niigata (S) from Japan is the only foreign team invited.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Teams, Personnel and sponsors
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Teams, Foreigners
Singapore Premier League clubs can sign a maximum of four foreign players in the 2020 season, up from three as compared to 2019. However, one of them has to be 21 years old or younger on 1 January 2020.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Teams, Foreigners
Albirex Niigata can sign up unlimited number of Singaporean players for the new season. Only 1 local player above 23 years old is allowed.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Teams, Foreigners
Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Teams, Foreigners
Note 1: Albirex is allowed to sign as many locals as their budget allows. However, the club are only allowed one Singaporean over the age of 23.


2020 Singapore Premier League, Teams, Foreigners
Note 2: Hougang United releases Charlie Machell and Zac Anderson before the season end as their contracts ended 30 November 2020 were not extended.


2020 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on Friday, 10 July 2020 to elect 93 members to the Parliament of Singapore across 31 constituencies. Parliament was dissolved and the general election called by President Halimah Yacob on 23 June, on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It elected members of parliament to the 14th Parliament of Singapore since Singapore's independence in 1965, using the first-past-the-post electoral system. Voting was mandatory for all Singaporeans who were aged 21 or above as of 1 March 2020.


2020 Singaporean general election
This election was the 18th general election in Singapore and the 13th since independence. The ruling People's Action Party secured its 15th consecutive term in government since 1959, setting the second-longest uninterrupted record among countries with universal suffrage of 66 years if PAP finishes their full term of five years, behind Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party which held for 71 years.


2020 Singaporean general election
192 candidates (including 73 new candidates and one independent candidate) from 11 parties had contested, the most ever in the history of independent Singapore, surpassing the record set from the 2015 election. There were a record number of female candidates participating in the election, with 28 out of 40 candidates elected and making up 29% of the parliament, including three from the Workers' Party (among them was Raeesah Khan, the first female minority opposition candidate to win a seat as well as the youngest MP-elect at 26) and one Non-constituency Member of Parliament, who was Progress Singapore Party's Hazel Poa. Two constituencies, Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC and Pioneer SMC, saw a three-cornered fight, with the former being the first multi-cornered contest inside a Group Representation Constituency since the 1992 Marine Parade by-election 28 years prior. This election also marked the second consecutive election not to have a walkover in any constituency.


2020 Singaporean general election
The results saw the ruling People's Action Party winning 83 seats with the Workers' Party winning the remaining 10. WP successfully retained their wards of Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC and captured the newly created Sengkang GRC, making it the largest representation for opposition-elect in Parliament since 1966, the first time an opposition claimed multiple GRCs since the creation of the scheme in 1988, and also the first time a newly created constituency was won by an opposition party on its first attempt.


2020 Singaporean general election
Excluding overseas votes, the PAP's overall vote share dropped to 61.24% which was the lowest share since the 2011 elections, while the WP's vote broke its best record for its overall contested vote share for any opposition party with 50.49% of the votes, surpassing the previous record held by the Singapore Democratic Party in 1991 with 48.55%. Six candidates, one from a SMC and five from a GRC, had each lost their $13,500 deposit in the election, the biggest count of candidates since the 1980 election. As a result of the election, two non-constituency seats were taken up by Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai, both from the newly established Progress Singapore Party, for achieving the best-performing non-elected result at West Coast GRC, which was confirmed on 14 July.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background
According to Article 65(4) of the Constitution, the maximum term of any given Parliament is five years from the date of its first sitting following a general election, after which it is dissolved by operation of law. However, the prime minister may advise the President to dissolve Parliament at any time during the five-year period. A general election must be held within three months after every dissolution of Parliament. Elections are conducted by the Elections Department (ELD), which is under the Prime Minister's Office.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background
There are 93 elected seats in Parliament organised into 14 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 17 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). Each SMC returns one Member of Parliament using the first past the post voting system, while each GRC returns four or five MPs by block voting, at least one of whom must be from the Malay, Indian or other minority communities. A group of candidates wishing to stand for election in a GRC must all be members of the same political party, or a group of independent candidates. The voting age in Singapore is 21 years.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background
On 23 June 2020 at 4 pm SGT, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced during a live televised announcement that President Halimah Yacob had dissolved the 13th Parliament of Singapore on the same day and had issued a writ of election with nominations to be held a week later on 30 June 2020.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background
The returning officer is Tan Meng Dui, a former deputy secretary at the Ministry of National Development and current CEO of the National Environment Agency. This is his first election as Returning Officer, taking over from Ng Wai Choong who had served in this role in the previous general election.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Political parties
The governing People's Action Party has been in power since 1959 and is currently led by the prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong. The leading opposition party is the Workers' Party led by Pritam Singh, with six elected seats and three NCMP seats before the election. A total of ten opposition parties challenged the ruling party in this election.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Changes in election process
The Elections Department introduced several new features for this election to help ease the election process for voters, candidates and election volunteers. Registration of voters on polling day will be done electronically and election officials need not manually strike out a voter's particulars from a hardcopy register of electors. Voters will be able to mark their candidate(s) choices more clearly using self-inking pens and enjoy shorter queuing time with the introduction of the e-registration system.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Changes in election process
Candidates are able to fill in most of the necessary documents online while election volunteers are able to count the number of votes within a shorter duration with the help of counting machines, enabling election results to be released at least 50 minutes earlier. In addition, there will be more polling stations, reducing the average number of voters per polling station from 3,000 to about 2,400. Senior citizens above the age of 65 will be given priority to vote between 8 am and 12 pm on Polling Day.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Changes in election process
Election recount can occur if the margin of results for a constituency are within a 2% range (or scores between 49% and 51%). Unlike the previous elections, the recount is now triggered automatically rather than being called out manually from the candidates or counting agents, which was previously seen in 1991 (Nee Soon Central SMC), 2011 (both Presidential and Potong Pasir SMC) and 2015 (Aljunied GRC); additionally, a standby counting machine would be used for recount instead of being manually counted. Similar to past elections, overseas votes is disregarded during a recount of votes as it does not cause any impact from the eventual results, unless if the total overseas electorate is greater than the difference of votes.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Non-constituency Member of Parliament
On 27 January 2016, an amendment to the Constitution was passed, increasing the minimum number of opposition Members of Parliament by three to 12 members. This is the first increase for the number of opposition MPs allocated since the 2011 Singaporean general election, when it was increased from three members to nine.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Non-constituency Member of Parliament
As in the case for previous elections, NCMP seats are offered to the best-performing non-elected opposition candidates, with the number determined by the total number of opposition candidates elected; if there are at least 12 opposition candidates elected, then NCMP seats will not be offered, as previously seen in the 1991 election. The names of the eligible candidates are announced a few days after the polling day. Candidates may decline the post if offered, as was seen previously in the 1984 and 2015 elections.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Electoral divisions
The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is made up of senior civil servants and charged with adjusting the boundaries of electoral divisions prior to an election. The government officially claims this as necessary to ensure minority participation in Parliament amidst demographic changes while ensuring an equitable number of voters represented per MP, though critics have raised allegations of gerrymandering to disadvantage the opposition. As of 2015, there were 16 GRCs and 13 SMCs. Prime Minister Lee convened the committee on 1 August 2019 with instructions to reduce the size of GRCs and increase the number of SMCs. The exact date of formation was revealed only when Pritam Singh asked Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing in a written reply in Parliament.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Electoral divisions
The Committee released its report on 13 March 2020 with the formation of 17 GRCs and 14 SMCs. For the first time since 1991, six-member GRCs were eliminated and reduced to five. A new Sengkang GRC was formed from portions of the former Punggol East and Sengkang West SMCs and the boundaries of Tampines GRC were altered for the first time since 2001, due to the increase in population in the northeastern area of Singapore.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Electoral divisions
Four new SMCs were also carved out (Kebun Baru, Yio Chu Kang, Marymount and Punggol West), three former SMCs were absorbed into neighbouring GRCs (Fengshan, Punggol East and Sengkang West), while two SMCs (Hong Kah North and Potong Pasir) had their boundaries modified. The remaining SMCs and four GRCs (Aljunied, Holland–Bukit Timah, Jurong and Tanjong Pagar) were left untouched, though the Workers' Party raised questions on the abolition of SMCs that it had previously contested and lost by a narrow margin. The changes saw about 13% of voters being allocated to a new constituency and increased the number of seats from 89 to 93.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Electoral divisions
The changes made in the electoral divisions are as follows:


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic
During a Straits Times forum on 11 March, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that the timing of the elections could be affected in view of the worsening pandemic. On 25 March, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament that he believed it would be unconstitutional for the President to form a caretaker government unless a state of emergency had been recommended by the Cabinet to the President.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic
On 28 March, Tan Cheng Bock responded to Teo's comments by saying that the unconstitutional nature of a caretaker government as a result of a postponing a general election would be far more preferred than having a health emergency by exposing millions of Singaporeans to potential COVID-19 infection.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic
On 7 April, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing introduced the Parliamentary Elections (COVID-19 Special Arrangements) Bill to Parliament which would allow voters under Stay-Home Notices or Quarantine Orders related to COVID-19 to vote outside of their normal electoral divisions in the upcoming General Election. The Bill was passed by Parliament on 4 May and assented to by the President on 15 May. The Parliamentary Elections (COVID-19 Special Arrangements) Act 2020 came into operation on 26 May.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic
On 1 July, the Parliamentary Elections (COVID-19 Special Arrangements) Regulations 2020 was made to provide for mobile polling teams at special polling stations and to allow voters who have fever or on COVID-19 stay orders to vote from 7 pm to 8 pm on polling day.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic, Restrictions on election campaigning
On 18 June, the ELD introduced temporary measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19, such as no rallies and TV screenings pertaining to the election are to be held, instead replacing with e-rallies and a new "Constituency Political Broadcast", and nomination centres will no longer admit members of the public or supporters during nomination day.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic, Restrictions on election campaigning
Walkabouts and campaigning vehicles are still allowed, though safe distancing and minimal physical contact still applies, and candidates are also not allowed to make speeches or physical rallies, including during the campaigning from campaigning vehicles, meaning that there will be no parades held by the candidates after the election, though it can still broadcast any pre-recorded messages.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic, Restrictions during polling day
Voters were given a recommended two-hour time slot to cast their vote on Polling Day (from 8 am to 8 pm) on their ballot card as a measure to counter long queues during polling. Measures for safe distancing still apply on polling day. Voters with fever or respiratory symptoms would be denied entry from the polling stations, except during the last hour (7 pm to 8 pm).


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic, Restrictions during polling day
Voters who are unable to vote because of medical issues, or because they are overseas, will be delisted from the registrar of voters due to mandatory voting, but will not need to pay the $50 fee for reinstating their names. Voters had to use hand santitizer before voting, and were initially required to wear disposible gloves, but this was later changed due to the requirement causing long queues. Elderly voters above the age of 65 were given a special time slot in the morning. The restrictions caused long queues at polling stations.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic, Restrictions during polling day
For overseas voting (which was held in ten cities, Dubai, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Shanghai, San Francisco, New York City and Canberra), voting was subject to the approval of the authorities in the affected countries, while ELD announced that they would release the arrangements for returning Singaporeans who are issued a mandatory 14-day stay home notice to vote in hotels and reducing the risk of infecting others. These arrangements were later officially announced on 1 July, when the Singapore government announced that special polling stations will be set up in Marina Bay Sands and JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach to accommodate voters serving their stay-home notices in the two hotels.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Disruptions from COVID-19 pandemic, Restrictions during polling day
350 voters who are quarantined at the time did not vote as they are not allowed to leave their place where they were currently isolated to cast their vote.


2020 Singaporean general election, Background, Extension of polling hours
The polls were slated to close at 8 pm; however, in an unprecedented move in Singapore electoral history, the Elections Department extended the voting hours till 10 pm, just within two hours before its initial closing time. According to the Elections Department, there were long queues at some polling stations, and the extension was to "allow enough time for all voters to cast their votes". This drew criticism from several opposition parties for compromising the integrity of the election, as some were unable to field a polling agent to supervise the sealing of ballot boxes. The Elections Department replied that polling and counting procedures will continue as normal.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political developments, People's Action Party
On 13 March 2016, the PAP MP for Bukit Batok SMC David Ong resigned over personal indiscretions with a party grassroots activist. In the subsequent Bukit Batok by-election, the PAP candidate and former Aljunied GRC candidate Murali Pillai defeated the opposition SDP candidate Chee Soon Juan to reclaim the seat for the PAP.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political developments, People's Action Party
In the lead up to the 2017 Singapore presidential election, Speaker of Parliament and MP for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC Halimah Yacob resigned from the party on 7 August 2017 to fulfil regulations which prohibit the President of Singapore from any party affiliations. As she had vacated her seat in Parliament, there were calls for a by-election, though the Court of Appeal eventually ruled that there was "no duty to call a by-election when a single vacancy arises in a GRC".


2020 Singaporean general election, Political developments, People's Action Party
On 23 November 2018, Heng Swee Keat and Chan Chun Sing were respectively elected as the party's first and second assistant secretary-general to the PAP's 35th Central Executive Committee (CEC). The two assistant posts were seen as an indicator of Lee Hsien Loong's successor, given that the upcoming election is likely to be Lee's last.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political developments, People's Action Party
Following the announcement of Heng Swee Keat's appointment as the sole deputy prime minister on 1 May 2019, succeeding Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, former MP Inderjit Singh said that the PAP intends to showcase Heng's imminent ascent to the top post and dispel rumours of any surprises in the leadership succession.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political developments, Workers' Party
On 3 November 2017, then-secretary-general and Aljunied GRC incumbent MP Low Thia Khiang announced during a speech on the party's 60th anniversary that he would not contest the next party elections. During the party's 2016 CEC election, Chen Show Mao had mounted a surprise challenge for the leadership post but lost the election to Low in a 41–65 vote. In the leadership election on 8 April 2018, Pritam Singh was elected unopposed as successor to Low as the party's new secretary-general.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political developments, Workers' Party
Observers say that the lack of a contest was a good sign of internal unity, and that the party is keen to demonstrate its multiracial credentials now that it has a non-Chinese secretary-general, for the first time since 2001 with J. B. Jeyaretnam.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political developments, Workers' Party
On 30 April 2020, Low was hospitalised due to a head injury, and was discharged on 21 May. On 25 June, while Low was on rehabilitation, the party announced he (and along with Chen and Png Eng Huat) will not seek election for the first time in his 32-year career; while on his interview, he cited his satisfaction on his leadership and success for the party, saying 'I felt my work was done'.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Criticisms of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic
Many opposition parties criticized the PAP government's handling of the pandemic. SDP's chairman Paul Tambyah, who is an infectious disease expert and president-elect of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, claimed that the government was more concerned over a shortfall of masks than public health when it issued advisories not to wear masks unless a person was unwell. People's Voice chief Lim Tean also charged that the PAP had failed to act with "speed and decisiveness" despite having reportedly learnt the lessons from SARS 17 years ago.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Criticisms of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic
PSP candidate Ang Yong Guan questioned the belated "one-month delay" response after a foreign worker was admitted to hospital, which saw the virus rapidly spreading within their dormitories unchecked, leading to Singapore having the highest number of cases within ASEAN. PSP chief Tan Cheng Bock, in his 2 July Party Political Broadcast said the PAP government's "boasting in January failed to prepare Singapore for the explosion of dormitory cases in April."


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
During the English-language debate, SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan touched on one of its campaign promises of saying no to a 10 million population in Singapore, citing a 2019 article from The Straits Times, to which PAP representative Vivian Balakrishnan replied that the Prime Minister's Office had issued a statement that day "advising people like you not to indulge in falsehoods" and denied that there would be a population of 10 million in Singapore, adding that the figure was a "strawman".


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
PAP candidate and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat denied saying that Singapore should plan to increase its population to 10 million people. He reiterated the Singapore government's stance that it had "never proposed or targeted for Singapore to increase the population to 10 million". PAP candidate Vivian Balakrishnan also called for the SDP to clarify its claim.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
Nevertheless, the SDP later claimed victory for pressuring the PAP into declaring that it did not have a population target of 10 million, to which a PAP spokesman denounced as a "falsehood" which "renders the campaign pointless, and calls into question the integrity of the whole party". The National Population and Talent Division of the Prime Minister's Office also objected to the claim.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
The dispute between the PAP and the SDP continued, with Paul Tambyah and Chee Soon Juan defending SDP's decision to press the PAP about plans for a population target of 10 million for Singapore, saying that PAP was now forced to clarify and assure Singaporeans that there are no such plans. Paul pointed out that PAP could have clarified the matter earlier but did not do so, adding that he was "baffled" that the PAP called the target a "falsehood" perpetuated by the SDP.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
Both WP and PSP also reacted to the dispute; WP Secretary-General Pritam Singh said that there was "room for fair comment" as it was not clear if SDP's stance could be considered a "falsehood" or not; however he did not endorse either side and said that it was a matter that WP was not involved in. Separately, PSP Secretary-General Tan Cheng Bock said that the issue came about due to a lack of transparency from the Singapore government.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
Heng Swee Keat claimed that the SDP had "erected a bogeyman" and said that he was expecting integrity and honesty from all candidates contesting in the election, to which Tambyah said that the PAP "should take up any unhappiness it may have over the claim with The Straits Times", adding that Singaporeans should read the article concerned to make their own judgements.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
PAP later issued a statement, saying that it was "disappointed but not surprised" at SDP's response, and claimed that "the SDP have dug their heels in, repeated their falsehoods and refused to apologise to Singaporeans for misleading them" and that "Dr Chee has not changed, cannot change and will never change".


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
Paul Tambyah and Chee Soon Juan responded to PAP's statement issued the previous day; Tambyah said that PAP's comments were "a sign of desperation" and that it showed that PAP had "run out of ideas" and "resorted to the old PAP tactics of just politics of personal destruction", while Chee said PAP was "beating a dead horse". Nevertheless, the two SDP leaders said that it was time for the election campaign to move on from the dispute.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, 10 million population controversy
In addition, the Association of Women for Action and Research criticised PAP's statement to SDP the previous day as PAP had used an analogy involving spousal abuse to make a point. Both SDP and PV's Facebook pages, as well as several other Facebook pages belonging to others, were issued correction directions by the alternate authority of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act Office over the claim of plans for a population target of 10 million for Singapore.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Opposition wipeout concerns
In introducing WP's manifesto, Pritam Singh stated that there was a "real risk" of a wipeout of elected opposition MPs, adding that WP candidates must be voted into Parliament to serve the public in Parliament and strengthen democracy. PAP Secretary-General Lee Hsien Loong said that the possibility was an unrealistic outcome, claiming that Singh's argument was "a tactic" and added that he was "using reverse psychology".


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Opposition wipeout concerns
Two other PAP incumbent candidates, Chan Chun Sing and Indranee Rajah, also responded to Singh's point, saying that it would be a mistake for voters to think that the PAP would return to power effortlessly, while adding that it was important for the PAP to get a "clear and strong endorsement" from the people.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of discriminatory comments by Raeesah Khan
On 5 July, reports emerged that two separate police reports were lodged against WP's Sengkang GRC candidate Raeesah Khan for her online comments, which allegedly promoted enmity between different religious and racial groups.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of discriminatory comments by Raeesah Khan
Her Facebook post in May 2020 had criticised the Singapore law enforcement authorities for discriminating against Singaporean citizens and said that "rich Chinese" and "white people" were treated differently under the law, which was largely based on the differences in sentences handed out to individuals who broke the circuit breaker measures in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and another Facebook post in February 2018 focused on the 2018 City Harvest Church ruling.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of discriminatory comments by Raeesah Khan
WP swiftly came out to support Raeesah; in a press conference with WP chief Pritam Singh, chairperson Sylvia Lim and the Sengkang GRC team, Raeesah also apologised and released a statement stating that her intention was "never to cause social divisions but to raise awareness on minority issues", adding that she also regretted making her "insensitive" comments.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of discriminatory comments by Raeesah Khan
Since the incident, many netizens labelled the bringing up of her past comments as a political move, with hashtags such as "#IStandWithRaeesah" trending on Twitter. A Change.org petition was made on 6 July to let Raeesah campaign smoothly and conduct investigations only after the elections, which had garnered almost 20,000 signatures by polling day.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of discriminatory comments by Raeesah Khan
On 7 July, PAP released a statement accusing Raeesah of admitting to "making highly derogatory statements about Chinese and Christians" and asked "Why does the WP still consider her worthy of consideration as an MP?" PSP chief Tan Cheng Bock weighed in on the controversy and accused the PAP of engaging in "gutter politics". He questioned the PAP to "look at themselves and see whether they have conducted themselves in a gentlemanly way". Similarly, the police revealed that they were investigating the man who allegedly reported Raeesah over social media comments which intended to wound religious and racial feelings.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of discriminatory comments by Raeesah Khan
On 17 September, the Singapore Police Force announced that it had concluded its investigations into the two incidents, and that aside from a "stern warning" to both Raeesah and the blogger; neither action was taken against both.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of racist comments by Heng Swee Keat
A series of police reports were made in reaction to the first police report, including one against Heng Swee Keat, who had remarked that Singaporeans were "not ready for a prime minister from a minority race" or someone that was non-Chinese, and one against the People's Action Party's press statement on WP Raeesah Khan, both on the grounds of promoting enmity between different religious or racial groups. In a statement on 8 July, the police deemed that no offence had been committed by the PAP.


2020 Singaporean general election, Political issues, Allegations of racist comments by Heng Swee Keat
The Singapore Police Force, after consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, stated that "Mr Heng's remarks, in the context they were made, do not evidence any intent to wound anyone's racial feelings or promote enmity between different races". Since news broke of the statement released by the police, netizens have spoken out about how they felt Heng's statement was racist.


2020 Singaporean general election, Timeline, New candidates/Outgoing MPs
There were a total 73 new candidates participated in the election, among which include the nation's first female brigadier-general, a few former civil servants, and a MRT train announcer who is also a candidate previously withdrew from participating in the previous election.


2020 Singaporean general election, Timeline, New candidates/Outgoing MPs
23 candidates (three were from the Workers' Party) did not stand for candidacy, among which were Emeritus Senior Minister and second prime minister Goh Chok Tong who stepped down from politics after 44 years, Former leader of the opposition Low Thia Khiang (the longest serving opposition MP at 29 years), Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, and former ministers Lim Hng Kiang, Lim Swee Say and Yaacob Ibrahim.


2020 Singaporean general election, Timeline, Pre-nomination day events
Between the start of election proceedings in March 2020 and nomination day on 30 June 2020, various political parties in Singapore made preparations to contest in the general election by revealing their candidates and manifesto to the general public.


2020 Singaporean general election, Timeline, Nomination day
On 30 June 2020 from 11 am to 12 noon SGT, each candidate filed their nomination papers (along with the approval of a proposer, a seconder and at least four assentors), a political donation certificate (by before 26 June), and paid an election deposit of S$13,500 (down from S$14,500 in the previous 2015 election, but also the same amount as seen in the 2016 by-election) in one of the nine designated schools or through online to complete their application. Additionally, in the case for Group Representation Constituencies, their team must consist of at least one minority candidate and must also submit a community committee form (Malay or Indian/other minority which is dependent on the constituency's requirements).


2020 Singaporean general election, Timeline, Nomination day
The list of nine schools designated as nomination centres were:


2020 Singaporean general election, Timeline, Nomination day
As in the case of previous elections, candidates will lose their deposit if they are unable to garner at least one-eighth (12.5%) of the valid votes cast within the contested constituency.


2020 Singaporean general election, Timeline, Pre-polling day events
Between nomination day (30 June 2020) and polling day (10 July 2020), candidates began campaigning on various media platforms. Online e-rallies were held in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and political broadcasts (by party and by constituency) were aired on national television. Two round table political debates, one in English and the other in Mandarin, were also held. On the eve of polling day also known as cooling-off day, campaigning was prohibited except for party political broadcasts.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
Polls closed at 10 pm and vote counting began soon after. The results were announced by the returning officer Tan Meng Dui, who is also CEO of the National Environment Agency.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
Similar to the 2015 Singaporean general election and 2016 by-election, sample counts were released by the Elections Department prior to the announcement of the actual results to prevent any unnecessary speculation or reliance on unofficial sources of information while counting was still under way.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
The first results were announced at 1:22 am for Bukit Panjang SMC where PAP's Liang Eng Hwa was elected with a vote of 53.74%. The last results came at 3:44 am in which Aljunied GRC and Nee Soon GRC are retained by WP and PAP with 59.93% and 61.90% respectively.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
The end result saw PAP's vote share reduced island-wide at 61.24%, down from 69.86% in the last election in 2015.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
Aside from WP retaining the six seats it held in the last election, they also went on to win the new Sengkang GRC, making it the second GRC to be won by an opposition party and the first time in history a new constituency was captured by an opposition party on their first attempt, and also having the largest representation for any opposition party with 10; that victory also lead to the defeat of cabinet minister Ng Chee Meng, who became the third cabinet minister to lose his re-election since independence after Lim Hwee Hua and George Yeo lost Aljunied in 2011.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
In western Singapore, the PSP and SDP made inroads and reduced previously massive PAP vote margins, giving a huge swing and converting them into marginal seats, notably Bukit Batok (54.80%), Bukit Panjang (53.74%) and West Coast (51.69%), for the latter also contributed the election's largest swing of 26.88% large enough to award PSP two NCMPs although the PAP retained the constituency. For the second consecutive election, the PAP safe seat of Jurong GRC won the best-performing result of the election with 74.62%.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
Excluding overseas electorate, the voter turnout was 95.54%, or 2,535,565 voters, the highest turnout rate of any election (in both general and presidential elections) since the 1997 general election when 95.91% voted.


2020 Singaporean general election, Results
1.81% of votes cast were invalid votes, the lowest rate in a general election of Singapore's post-independence history, and lowest since the 1963 election when 0.99% were invalid (when Singapore was still a state in Malaysia).


2020 Singaporean general election, Results, Analysis
B/C = Constituency has experienced a boundary change since the last election.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
In a press conference held in the early hours of 11 July following the results, Prime Minister Lee described PAP's 61.24% of the popular vote as "respectable" and reflected "broad-based support for the PAP" but "was not as strong a mandate as [he] had hoped for". He pledged to use the "clear mandate" responsibly to take Singapore "safely through the (COVID-19) crisis and beyond".


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
Lee also acknowledged that there was a "clear desire" for alternative voices in parliament especially from young and first time voters and called the loss of three incumbent office holders in Sengkang as a "major loss" to his team. In an unprecedented move, Lee announced that Workers' Party leader Pritam Singh would be designated as the official Leader of the Opposition and "will be provided with appropriate staff support and resources" to perform his role. Lee added that 24 newly elected first-time PAP MPs will "reinforce the renewal process" of the party.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
Lee added that he was "determined" to hand over to a new team of leaders in good working order after the COVID-19 crisis is overcome. Finally, PM Lee also suggested that disruption caused by the circuit breaker and the safe distancing restrictions just before the election which led to loss of income and jobs was reflected in the results.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
PM Lee added that a thorough review into the conduct of the election would take place, acknowledging that the arrangements "could have been done better" following the reports of long queues at polling stations caused by additional arrangements for COVID-19.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
Speaking later in the day while thanking voters with his successful GRC team in Nee Soon GRC, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said "a lot of soul searching and reflection" would be required to understand the message sent by the voters in the swing against PAP.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
When asked on his view of the PAP statement which questioned Sengkang GRC WP candidate Raeesah Khan of whether she was "worthy of consideration as an MP" which was said to have backfired and resulted in a WP victory, Shanmugam suggested that the older generation of Singaporeans takes a different approach with the younger generation of how race and religion is discussed in Singapore. Shanmugam added there "needs to be a way in which the viewpoints of younger Singaporeans" are addressed.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
In a radio interview with Money FM 89.3 on 28 July, he mentioned that the results reflected the strain in the economy amid COVID-19, and adding that he was keenly aware of the voters' desire, especially younger ones, for diversity of representation in Parliament, with a difference between perception and reality.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong called PAP's victory a "clear mandate" and called PM Lee's move to designate Pritam Singh as official leader of the opposition a "very significant move". He added opposition MPs and NCMPs will now have to "go beyond merely serving as a check-and-balance" and "put forward their alternative policies and solutions" to Singaporeans.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
On 17 July, Lawrence Wong mentioned on a separate virtual conference for the multi-task force relating to the social distancing in Hougang Avenue 5 after the polling hours ended that featured a large group of WP supporters making close contacts despite wearing masks and safe distancing, which produced a safe-distancing risks by individuals. Wong told that Singaporeans should not be complacent and added a warning that "anyone decides to abandon caution, thinks that, 'It's okay'" could "put the whole country at risk". Despite the warning, however, there was no change in the enforcement and Wong believed that polling was conducted in open spaces and there was no close contact in terms of touching and talking, and had arranged voters different safety protocols while they cast their votes.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, PAP's response
On 19 July, Senior Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam mentioned that the politics had been changed permanently after the election, one with a solid mandate and one for a changing electorate, adding a fact on the results that "were also good for opposition politics", especially the performance for the WP and "reflected a discerning public and a political culture that bodes well for Singapore." Tharman aimed to achieve the balance and having a "vigorous and informed" debate between PAP and the oppositions in the upcoming government to improve efficiency and democracy.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, Opposition parties' response
Workers' Party leader Pritam Singh said he was "grateful" and "humbled" at the support WP received, adding that he was "not feeling euphoric at all" and acknowledged "a lot of work to do". He reminded the successful candidates to keep their feet "firmly grounded" after the WP secured a second GRC in Sengkang and held onto Aljunied and Hougang with increased margins. In a Facebook post, he wrote that he looked forward to doing his best serving as leader of the opposition.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, Opposition parties' response
Progress Singapore Party leader Tan Cheng Bock said he was proud that his party achieved an average vote share of 40.85% in the seats it contested on their maiden election despite being founded a year prior. He called it "the beginning of a new chapter for PSP", and believes the "movement" that he created will grow. He added that the party executive committee will discuss sending two candidates from West Coast GRC to serve the NCMP role in Parliament.


2020 Singaporean general election, Post-election events, Opposition parties' response
Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan said the SDP ran a "very good campaign" focused on policies and issues but "came up short" on winning. He thanked voters and said the SDP "will continue to press on". SDP chairman Paul Tambyah added they could "hold (their) heads high for a strong campaign under the circumstances" and "will do better the next time".