How will dominant PAP fare? And what will be the outcome for the opposition, which appears to have an increased number of new players compared to the last GE.

What mandate will Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, also the ruling PAP's secretary-general, achieve this time? Will rising prices, ministerial salary increases and unprecedented oversights have an impact on its years of nearly-full dominance? Will Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew call it a day and retire?

Will the main and oldest opposition WP, aiming for a breakthrough by attempting to win its first GRC, succeed in attaining its goal or remain holding its sole single seat by secretary-general Low Thia Khiang?

Will the civil disobedience-oriented SDP's choice of gearing towards political activism at the directive of its leader Dr Chee Soon Juan, seemingly out-of-touch by some but gaining support from a small group, pay electoral dividends?

Will SDA's aging leader Chiam See Tong, who had announced he will move to a GRC, score a big one? How NSP, a former SDA member party that left after the 2006 GE and will be on its own for the first time since 1997, will perform remains to be seen, or whether it will return to SDA fold by merger with Chiam's SPP as reported.

Finally, the new RP, founded by renowned opposition veteran J. B. Jeyaretnam who passed away in 2008, is now led by his eldest son Kenneth Jeyaretnam and is a party to watch.

A seat in Jurong GRC, Bukit Batok Division, was left vacant without a by-election after the death of PAP MP Dr Ong Chit Chung in 2008.

In 2009, the government announced GRCs would be made smaller and there will be 12 SMCs, up from nine in the last three GEs. More crucially, Non-Constituency MPs were increased from three to nine, meaning that there will be the largest opposition representation since 1963. Also, a one-day cooling period before polling would be imposed and the difference between nomination and polling days would be extended to ten days.