A March polling date would give the government time to unveil its budget expected on Feb 17, hold a two-week debate, map out electoral boundaries and dissolve parliament, said the paper.

Singapore must hold elections by June 2007 but analysts predict the People's Action Party (PAP) -- which has dominated parliament in the country's 40 years of independence -- could call for one sooner, amid strong economic performance and jobs growth.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday instructed the elections department to update its register of eligible voters before Feb 28, a move widely seen as heralding a poll.

A victory for the ruling party is in no doubt but analysts say Lee is unlikely to match the 75 percent vote obtained by his predecessor Goh Chok Tong in 2001.

Singapore opposition parties -- which won only two of the 84 parliamentary seats in the last election -- frequently complain that the electoral system is stacked against them.

At the last election, in November 2001, only 29 of the 84 seats were contested.

Singapore's trade-dependent economy grew 5.7 percent in 2005, the second-highest since 2000, when the economy grew by 9.6 percent.


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