Committee that reviews Singapore’s electoral boundaries not yet convened

SINGAPORE: The committee that reviews Singapore’s electoral boundaries has not been convened, the Elections Department (ELD) said on Thursday (Apr 18) in response to CNA's queries.

Convening the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) is a necessary step before calling a General Election. 

Based on previous polls, a General Election could be called between four months and a year from the time the EBRC’s formation is announced.

The timing of an election has been in focus after it was announced on Monday that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would hand over to his deputy Lawrence Wong on May 15.

The General Election must be held by November 2025, although analysts have suggested that Singapore could go to the polls as early as September this year.

Some political observers told CNA that a year-end election would give Mr Wong enough time for his team to settle in, while allowing him to potentially get a mandate from Singaporeans amid a challenging geopolitical climate.

The EBRC was last convened in August 2019, ahead of the General Election in July 2020.

Made up of civil servants, the committee will assess the boundaries of the current electoral divisions and produce a report recommending potential changes, taking into consideration changes in the number of electors due to shifts in population numbers and housing developments. 

In the last review, Singapore did away with six-member group representation constituencies (GRCs) and increased the number of MPs by four.

Sengkang GRC was formed, along with four new single-member constituencies - Kebun Baru, Marymount, Punggol West and Yio Chu Kang.

There are currently 17 GRCs and 14 SMCs.