Singapore’s Electoral Boundaries Review Committee yet to be convened

SINGAPORE: The convening of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) remains pending, as confirmed by Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday.

This information emerged during a parliamentary session where Workers’ Party Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song, inquired about the EBRC’s formation, a key indicator of the approaching election due by 23 November 2025.

Mr Giam’s questions focused on three main areas: (a) the current status of the EBRC, (b) a promise to announce its establishment as soon as it’s formed, and (c) a call for the EBRC to provide comprehensive justifications for each change in constituency boundaries, beyond mere considerations of population sizes and shifts.

Mr Chan, speaking for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, confirmed, “The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has not been convened.” He addressed Mr. Giam’s request for detailed explanations of boundary changes, noting, “I had previously mentioned in this House that the EBRC’s primary task is to review changes in population shifts and housing developments to determine future electoral boundaries.”

Mr Chan, also the Minister-in-Charge of the public service,  highlighted the EBRC’s composition of senior civil servants, recognized as “experts in these technical areas,” who “independently analyze the relevant data before making their recommendations.” He emphasized the impracticality of explaining every decision in detail, stating, “Hence, it will not be practicable for the EBRC to explain the technicalities and details of every change that it recommends.”

The Minister stressed the need for the EBRC to operate with professional autonomy, free from media and public pressures. He assured all concerned parties, “There will be sufficient time between the release of the EBRC’s report and the election for candidates and political parties to prepare.”

It should be noted that Mr Chan made no promises on behalf of the Prime Minister to announce the establishment of the EBRC immediately upon its formation.

In 2015, the EBRC was convened in May, but its formation was only disclosed on 13 July following MPs filing Parliamentary Questions. The committee’s report was released on 21 July, preceding the dissolution of parliament on 25 August and polling day on 11 September.

While the EBRC was convened in August 2019, way before the July 2020 general election, in most likelihood, it was likely to have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The handling of the 2019 EBRC’s operations is no different from the one before. WP leader Pritam Singh’s 8 July 2019 inquiry about the committee’s status received a negative response, with the Prime Minister later announcing its formation on 4 September. It was subsequently revealed through a parliamentary question that the EBRC had been established on 1 August, within a month of Mr Singh’s previous question.

The Prime Minister appoints the EBRC at his own leisure and the committee consists of civil servants. For the past few EBRCs, they have been chaired by PM Lee’s own secretary.

PM Lee’s announcement of a leadership transition to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong before People’s Action Party’s 70th birthday on 21 November 2024 and the next General Election would suggest the election would be held this year.

Citizens can also anticipate the upcoming budget to see if it includes generous handouts, a tradition observed in past election years.