Singaporeans are heading to the polls Friday in a general election Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has described as "like no other" due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has been touted in the city state as a "crisis of a generation."

Unlike previous elections, there were no physical rallies for political hustings and a raft of safety measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of the virus.  

The city state has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic with more than 45,000 cases, most of which are confined to cramped migrant workers' dormitories. Its economy has also taken a hit, with the central bank saying GDP is expected to contract by 5.8 percent.  

According to Lee, the election was called in the middle of a global pandemic so the long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) can "clear the decks, and give the new government a fresh, full five-year mandate."

The party has never lost an election before and has governed the country since 1959, and is expected to sweep the polls. But will the current crisis give them a stronger or weaker mandate? 

All seats contested for second time in history 

A total of 192 candidates from 11 parties filed papers on Nomination Day (June 30) and all 93 seats will be contested at this election.  

This is the second time in history where all seats in a general election will be contested and the ruling PAP is the only party with candidates contesting every seat. 

Lee's PAP, which has never seen its vote share drop below 60 percent and holds 82 of 88 elected seats in parliament, is assured of victory. But it's expected to see a keen fight against the Workers' Party (WP), the major opposition party, which holds six seats. 

The WP has fielded candidates in six of 31 constituencies, including one in the East Coast Group Representative Constituency, where Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is widely touted to be the next prime minister is also running.  

Another challenger is newcomer Progress Singapore Party (PSP), founded by former Member of Parliament Tan Cheng Bock, who has won backing from the prime minister's estranged brother Lee Hsien Yang. 

Social media: The new battleground 

Unlike previous elections, there were no major political rallies due to COVID-19 safe distancing measures. And meet-and-greet sessions were also limited to five people or fewer as part of epidemic prevention measures.  

Instead, political parties took to the airwaves, where contestants were allotted time on public television for political broadcasts. And social media has become a key battleground in reaching out to voters, where candidates used video messages, livestreams and online discussions to reach out to voters.  

"The opposition parties are obviously not delighted with there being no physical rallies for this general election. They will continue to have to walk the ground, they will probably have to exercise greater caution, which means that the number of households they can cover a day would be lower," Eugene Tan Kheng Boon, associate professor from the Singapore Management University's School of Law, told CGTN. 

But there are also analysts who say a "digital" election may be a leveling ground for opposition parties, since multiple rallies can be held online at lower costs as compared to physical rallies.  

And an unlikely winner has emerged from this – 80-year-old PSP leader Tan, who's been winning over young voters with age, and earned himself the moniker #hypebeastahgong ("ah gong" is an affectionate term for grandfather in Chinese dialect) on social media.  

Another opposition candidate that gained widespread acclaim is Workers' Party Jamus Lim, a 44-year-old economist, who made waves at a political debate, where he called for voters not to give a "blank cheque" to the ruling PAP.  

Key issues at stake  

While the government has said it was necessary to call for a snap election in the middle of the pandemic to gain a strong mandate, opposition parties have criticized the government for holding the election at this time. The Singapore Democratic Party said it  "needlessly jeopardizes the safety and health of Singaporeans." 

During his party's political broadcast, Progress Singapore Party chief Tan also accused the PAP of mishandling the COVID-19 outbreak. 

"Before Parliament was dissolved, you saw how the PAP government struggled to find the right answers. You saw how their boasting in January failed to prepare Singapore for the explosion of dormitory cases in April. They do not have all the answers," he said. 

The election is also key for leadership renewal in the city state. If the PAP wins again, 68-year-old Prime Minister Lee us expected to hand over the power to a successor during the government's next term. The heir apparent is Heng, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, who has filled in for Lee as acting prime minister in the past. 

Fifty-nine-year-old Heng is known as one of the "4G" or fourth generation leaders. The first generation was led by Lee Kuan Yew , Lee Hsien Loong's father and the city-state's first prime minister, who died in 2015. 

PAP's performance in this election will be seen as an indication of the public's confidence in Heng and the 4G team. 

"The challenge is for Mr. Heng's 4G team to secure a strong mandate from Singaporeans and to build a strong and cohesive team of lieutenants, which his predecessors had," said Eugene Tan. 

Voting in the time of coronavirus pandemic  

Singapore is not the only country to hold an election in the midst of a public health crisis. More recently, South Korea also held an election in April, which saw the highest voter turnout in 28 years, and gave President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party of Korea a majority in government.  

The PAP is attempting to pull off the same stunt, hoping a crisis will tamp down on voters' appetite for risk, and instead pick a pair of steady and tested hands to continue running the country.  

Authorities have outlined safety measures such as temperature screening and social distancing at polling stations, rubber gloves for handling ballot papers, and specific voting times for seniors.  

Polling stations have also been increased from 880 to 1,100 and voters are able to check how many people are in line before heading down to the polls. 

Around 2.65 million Singaporeans are expected to vote in this round of the general election, and polls will be opened from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time, with rough counts expected to come in at around 9:30 p.m.