Online Voting Using SingPass for Singaporeans based Overseas

Mdm Speaker, on behalf of the Prime Minister, let me take this question. The Elections Department has studied the feasibility of Internet voting for overseas Singaporeans. While Internet voting may appeal to some, it has various challenges like difficulties in authenticating voters, preventing impersonation and ensuring voting secrecy. In addition, there are system reliability issues and security risks, such as vulnerability to hacking and cyberattacks. Auditing the voting results in the event of a petition to the Election Judge is also more challenging and potentially problematic.

The use of SingPass can only overcome the difficulties with authentication partially, but not the other challenges with Internet voting. For now, voting by paper ballot at polling stations is still the simplest and most transparent method of voting that can ensure the integrity and secrecy of our voting process.

I thank the Minister for the reply. I just have one supplementary question. The Minister mentioned that the use of SingPass may solve some of the issues, but what are they? Perhaps, he could elaborate a little bit about what are the other issues that SingPass may not be able to solve.

Mdm Speaker, I think we all know the challenges with any Internet transactions and, that is, the authentication and verification of the person's identity. SingPass, as of now, we have a single- and a double-authentication method. Both of these are contingent on us being able to verify that the person is, indeed, the person using the token and the SingPass password.

This is not so easily overcome. For any Internet banking transaction equivalent, we also have the same challenge. If somebody is able to get his hands on the password or, for that matter, the token, then it is not a fool-proof method. There are risks involved in all these, which SingPass itself, while it is an improvement over the past, will not be able to overcome entirely.