Workers’ Party: Why did EBRC decide to dissolve 3 SMCs?

Singapore – The opposition Workers’ Party (WP) has questioned the decision-making of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) following the release of its report on Friday (March 13).

The release of the report has raised the possibility that a General Election will be held in the next few months.

A WP statement on Friday noted that the EBRC, which is appointed by the Prime Minister’s Office, had released its report more than seven months after it was formed.

“As is its custom, the EBRC has not disclosed how it came to its decisions,” noted the statement.

It questioned the rationale for “dissolving Sengkang West, Fengshan and Punggol East SMCs, areas where WP has been active for many years”. Although the number of SMCs had been increased from 13 to 14, the EBRC “has not explained why it chose to dissolve” those three in particular.

The statement added: “That said, there is finally clarity. The WP will decide on the areas where it can best serve Singaporeans, and make its announcement when the elections are called.”

WP leader Pritam Singh also took to Facebook to share some information on the electoral boundaries. He began by commending a member of the party’s Youth Wing, Yudhishthra Nathan, who with friend Goh Tiong Ann, had digitised the newly-released electoral boundaries. “For the first time ever, a digitised map of the 899 polling districts of Singapore” would be available for the public,” said Mr Yudhishthra.

“For many elections now, the shifting electoral boundaries have been a major challenge to opposition parties,” said Mr Singh. “Digitising this map democratises access to information and allows a voter to see which constituency they live in and how the boundaries have changed.”

Mr Singh added that, “ironically, some EBRC reports in the past — when Mr Lee Kuan Yew was Prime Minister — provided an explanation for new boundaries”.

“It boggles the mind when constituencies like Fengshan can be carved out into an SMC in 2015, only to be hived back into a GRC in 2020.”

Those online responding to the WP post supported its questions on the workings of the EBRC.

“Go hammer them for an answer,” urged another, alluding to the WP logo.

Some others expressed the hope for the WP to win more seats in Parliament in the coming elections.

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