SINGAPORE: In a significant step toward the next General Election, which must be called by Nov 23, 2025, the Elections Department (ELD) announced on Jan 22 that the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (ERBC) has been convened. The ELD is under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Tan Kee Yong, Secretary to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, is the committee’s chairman. He also chaired the ERBC in 2020. The committee’s secretary is Lim Zhi Yang, who heads the ELD. The ERBC has been directed to review the boundaries of the present electoral divisions and make recommendations regarding the number and boundaries of Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and Single Member Constituencies (SMCs).
These recommendations will be based on the number of electors found in the latest Registers of Electors, with the ERBC considering “significant changes in the number of electors in the current electoral divisions as a result of population shifts and housing developments.”
The ERBC should also endeavour to keep the average size of GRCs, the proportion of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected from SMCs, and the average ratio of electors to elected MPs the same as the election in 2020.
“I have convened the EBRC today. I look forward to the committee’s report and its recommendations in due course,” wrote PM Wong over social media early on Wednesday afternoon.
In a separate media release, the ELD said that the Prime Minister directed the Registration Officer to revise the Registers of Electors to bring them up to date. This needs to be completed before April 1, 2025.
It also said that anyone who fulfils the criteria below as of Feb 1, 2025, the prescribed cut-off date or the Registers of Electors, will have their name included in the register for an electoral division.
The individual must be a citizen of Singapore [holding a pink National Registration Identity Card (NRIC)] who is at least 21 years old, has not been disqualified from being an elector under any prevailing law, and has a residential address in Singapore on their NRIC. Overseas residents who have amended the address on their NRIC must have a contact address in Singapore registered with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority for voting purposes.
ELD wrote that the revised Registers of Electors will be open for public inspection by next month and will “provide more details on how Singaporeans can check the Registers of Electors when they are open for public inspection.”
Here are the other members of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee:
/TISG