The Elections Department said the registers contained a total of 2,158,439 names. It said 857 of them are overseas voters who can vote at Singaporean diplomatic missions in Canberra, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, London, Washington and San Francisco.

Singapore has a population of more than four million.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong must hold elections by mid-2007, but government leaders have made regular references to the polls, suggesting they could come much sooner. The ruling People's Action Party, which has never lost an election, is expected to dominate the tiny, fragmented opposition.

On Friday, Lee delivered his budget speech for the fiscal year ending March 2007, outlining financial initiatives that analysts say will serve as part of the ruling party's election campaign platform.

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