SINGAPORE: The National Solidarity Party (NSP) has announced its intention to contest five group representation constituencies (GRCs) and two single-member constituencies (SMC) in the next election.
The party’s announcement comes in the hours following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report, which majorly altered Singapore’s electoral map, leaving only five GRCs and four SMCs the way they were drawn in the 2020 General Election.
Revealing that the party is “deeply disappointed and perplexed” with the way constituencies have been carved up by the EBRC, NSP secretary-general Spencer Ng said, “Despite the grossly unfair and unlevelled political grounds for opposition parties, NSP will continue to plough forward through the obstacles placed to prevent a true representation of the people’s voices.”
Mr Ng confirmed that his party will contest Tampines GRC, Sembawang GRC, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Jalan Besar GRC, Marine Parade GRC, Tampines Changkat SMC and Sembawang West SMC.
He added that the party will issue more details after its General Elections Committee convenes on Thursday (13 Mar).
The EBRC report cited uneven population change as the reason behind its decisions. The total number of electoral divisions has increased from 31 to 33, with 18 GRCs and 15 SMCs, with five new GRCs and six new SMCs being created. With these changes, the next Parliament will see an increase in elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from 93 to 97.
The newly created GRCs are Pasir Ris-Changi, Punggol, Jurong East-Bukit Batok, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, and West Coast-Jurong West. The six new SMCs are Bukit Gombak, Jalan Kayu, Jurong Central, Queenstown, Sembawang West, and Tampines Changkat. Five former SMCs—Yuhua, Bukit Batok, Hong Kah North, MacPherson, and Punggol West—have been erased from the electoral map and have been absorbed into GRCs.