Chan Chun Sing: Electoral Boundaries Review Committee not yet formed

SINGAPORE: Responding to a parliamentary question on 2 July, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing confirmed that the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has not yet been convened.

He noted that the committee’s terms of reference will be established once it is convened.

Mr Chan provided this information in a written reply on behalf of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to a PQ filed by Mr Louis Chua, Workers’ Party MP for Sengkang GRC.

Mr. Chua had sought clarification on the terms of reference given to the EBRC and the underlying principles guiding these terms.

In response, Mr Chan explained that, based on the terms of reference for past committees, the EBRC will review electoral boundaries and recommend the size and number of group representation constituencies (GRCs) and single-member constituencies (SMCs).

“In its review, the EBRC should consider significant changes in the number of electors in each electoral division as a result of population shifts and housing developments since the last boundary delineation exercise,” he added.

This is not the first time the formation of the EBRC has been questioned. In February, WP MP Gerald Giam Yean Song also raised this issue during a parliamentary session.

The formation of the committee is a crucial step preceding the announcement and conduct of a General Election, which must occur by November 2025 at the latest.

In the last three general elections, the EBRC has also been tasked with reducing the size of GRCs and creating more single-member constituencies.

Typically, the committee comprises civil servants from the Singapore Land Authority, Housing Board, Department of Statistics, and Elections Department (ELD).

Before the past four general elections in 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2020, the committee took between two and seven months to complete its work. It was last convened in August 2019, ahead of the July 2020 election.

PM Wong ambiguous on Singapore GE timing

When asked by Singapore media on 12 June about whether his upcoming international meetings would preclude an electoral contest this year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong emphasized that there is “still a lot of work to be done” on both domestic and foreign fronts.

He pointed out that the schedule of high-level international and regional gatherings in the months ahead is transparent and not confidential.

“You know when there is an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meeting, there’s an APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting, when there’s a G20 meeting. You know when they are held in the schedule and in the calendar this year,” he said.

“So you can already mark out which are the dates when I will be busy, when I will be away and which are the dates when I will be in Singapore. So it’s really for people to speculate.”

Mr Wong emphasized that the timing of the election will be clear in due course.

“Eventually, at the time when we decide it’s appropriate and the election has to be called, people will know. Same for the EBRC. ”

“Eventually when it is convened and it has done its work, people will know and then I suppose everyone will get ready for the elections,” he said.

Political analysts have suggested September this year as a potential date for the election, speculation has swirled regarding the timing of the next General Election.

Despite PM Wong’s ambiguous response to a direct question about the election date, Singapore’s alternative parties have intensified their ground outreach efforts, anticipating an early election call by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) government.