GE2025: Over 8,000 police NSmen to be recalled for duty at rallies, polling stations and counting centres (2025)

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SINGAPORE – With thousands of people expected to turn up at rallies, polling stations and counting centres during the 2025 General Election, more than 8,000 operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) will be recalled to help with crowd control, said the police.

High-tech equipment such as cameras will also be deployed to ensure that the events are safe and incident-free.

Around 2.6 million registered voters in 17 group representation and 15 single-member constituencies are expected to cast their ballots on May 3.

In the run-up to Polling Day, 51 sites have been set aside for political rallies during the campaigning period from April 24 to May 1.

On April 24, the media was given a tour of a rally site which is overseen by the Bedok Police Division.

The police have set up a watchtower where officers can overlook the entire rally. Cameras are placed at various points on the site, with barricades around the perimeter.

Outside the site, orange nettings and traffic cones prevent jaywalking and illegal parking.

The measures are put in place to ensure public safety and reduce the risk of crowd crushes and stampedes. The police say their crowd management plan may be calibrated depending on the situation on the ground.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Fabian Tan, 44, from the police logistics department, told the media that his department began preparing for the election in 2024 and preparations were ramped up when the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee was convened.

“We have been planning for the past year and doing site reconnaissance, and (from time to time) we have to do additional reconnaissance to see if the planned locations’ terrains have changed,” he said.

The Bedok Police Division’s commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner Justin Wong, said: “The Singapore Police Force stands ready to ensure all election meetings are safe and secure.

“The police have been working closely with other government agencies to plan for this general election. After the Writ of Election was issued, the police have been working round the clock to execute those plans.”

He assured the public that the police have put in place plans and are ready to deal with various scenarios, such as when multiple rallies are held on a single night. He added that in the 2015 election, the police managed 14 rallies on the last day of campaigning.

Among the NSmen recalled is Deputy Superintendent of Police (NS) Shaun Keshiv Sarjeet Singh, 34, who, after having first enlisted in 2010, was involved in five elections before GE2025.

Speaking to reporters at the Bedok rally site, he said that this election cycle will be his most eventful one, as it is the first time he is leading a group of officers at a major rally.

“I feel honoured to be deployed for such a big-scale event which happens every five years. I am grateful to be working with many experienced officers, and together we will achieve our objectives,” he added.

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