Singapore has not yet convened Electoral Boundaries Review Committee for next election
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Elysia Tan
THE Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) – which determines the electoral boundaries for future general elections – has not been convened yet, said Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday (Feb 6), on behalf of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“There will be sufficient time between the release of EBRC’s report to the time of election for candidates and political parties to make their preparations,” said Chan in a written response to a Parliamentary question from Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Gerald Giam.
The EBRC was last convened in August 2019, ahead of the general election in July 2020.
As for Giam’s question about whether the Prime Minister will announce the formation of the EBRC as soon as this happens, Chan did not answer this directly, but said: “And as a matter of practice, the Committee should be allowed to carry out its work professionally, away from media attention or public pressures.”
Giam also asked if the EBRC would need to provide detailed reasons for each constituency boundary change, beyond the considerations of constituency size for fair representation, as well as population shifts.
Chan said that the committee members – which include experts in the technical areas of population shifts and new housing developments – independently consider the relevant data before making their recommendations.
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“Hence, it will not be practicable for the EBRC to explain the technicalities and details of every change that it recommends,” he said.
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