SINGAPORE – The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has recommended that there be 18 group representation constituencies and 15 single-member constituencies, up from the current 17 GRCs and 14 SMCs.
The EBRC report, released on March 11, paves the way for the next general election (GE), which must be held by November 2025.
Among the changes proposed are the creation of two new four-member GRCs and one fewer five-member GRC, alongside redrawn boundaries for a slew of electoral divisions.
The Government has accepted the proposals by the EBRC.
Here are 10 key changes from the report:
1. New four-member Punggol GRC
The five-member Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC that debuted at GE2001 will be no more. Instead, Punggol estate will merge with Punggol West SMC to form a new four-member Punggol GRC.
The EBRC recommended this change based on the GRC having the largest increase in the number of electors since the last general election, and the estate’s continuing growth with new housing developments.
Phase two of the Punggol Point Cove development and Kempas Residences were recently completed in January.
With 123,557 electors, this makes Punggol the second-largest four-member GRC after Sengkang GRC, which has 126,641 electors.
2. New Pasir Ris-Changi GRC takes in parts of East Coast
Following the creation of Punggol GRC, the remaining polling districts from the former Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC will be combined with the adjacent parts of East Coast GRC – namely Loyang and Flora estates.
These are the easternmost parts of East Coast GRC around Changi Airport and Changi Prison Complex in Siglap ward.
This will form the four-member Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, with 100,639 electors.
3. East Coast GRC absorbs Chai Chee and Siglap estates
East Coast GRC will absorb parts of Marine Parade GRC – namely the Housing Board estates in Chai Chee and the private estates in Siglap.
By absorbing Joo Chiat, currently overseen by Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong, it will add more than 30,000 electors and become 25 per cent larger than it was in the last election.
The upsized East Coast GRC remains a five-member constituency.
4. Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC absorbs MacPherson, part of Potong Pasir and Mountbatten
The single-seat MacPherson ward, currently helmed by MP Tin Pei Ling, will be absorbed into Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
The newly renamed five-member GRC will also comprise parts of Potong Pasir, as well as an adjacent polling district from Mountbatten SMC.
The EBRC said that parts of Potong Pasir SMC are being moved, owing to the high population growth there due to new housing developments in Bidadari.
5. Chua Chu Kang GRC takes in Tengah estates
Chua Chu Kang GRC will take in upcoming HDB developments – Rail Green I and II, as well as Plantation Edge I and II in Tengah – which used to straddle Chua Chu Kang GRC and Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.
It will also take in the new housing developments in Tengah, a town which is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
In order to keep Chua Chu Kang as a four-member GRC, Bukit Gombak and Hillview estates will be carved out to form a new Bukit Gombak SMC.
6. New Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC incorporates Bukit Batok and Yuhua, part of Hong Kah North
The committee said that even with the Tengah estates being absorbed into Chua Chu Kang GRC, the remaining Hong Kah North SMC comprising Bukit Batok West is “still too big and growing”.
Hence, it will be merged with Jurong GRC and Bukit Batok and Yuhua SMCs to form a new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.
To keep the new constituency as a five-member GRC, a new Jurong Central SMC will be carved out. The GRC will also shed estates in Jurong West and Taman Jurong.
7. West Coast absorbs Taman Jurong, loses areas in Dover and Telok Blangah to become West Coast-Jurong West GRC
West Coast will gain the estates in Jurong West and Taman Jurong from the soon-to-be-dissolved Jurong GRC, but lose its easternmost polling district – comprising estates in HarbourFront and Sentosa – to Radin Mas SMC.
Its estates in Dover and Telok Blangah will also be moved to next-door Tanjong Pagar GRC.
The resulting West Coast-Jurong West GRC will have 158,581 electors and be the second-largest GRC after Ang Mo Kio GRC.
8. Tampines GRC takes in Tampines West estates from Aljunied GRC
Polling districts in Tampines West, which are currently under Aljunied GRC, will be moved to Tampines GRC. These are the new estates near Tampines West MRT station and to the east of Bedok Reservoir.
The change comes as the committee recommended that electoral boundaries be regularised along key geographical features.
9. New SMCs carved out of Ang Mo Kio, Sembawang, Tampines and Tanjong Pagar
To keep four existing five-member GRCs from becoming too large, new SMCs will be carved out.
From Ang Mo Kio, a new Jalan Kayu SMC will be created. Even so, Ang Mo Kio will remain the largest GRC with 161,235 electors.
In view of the growth in Sembawang GRC and Tampines GRC, a new Sembawang West SMC and Tampines Changkat SMC will be created, respectively. A new Queenstown SMC will also be carved out from Tanjong Pagar GRC.
10. Boundaries unchanged for nine wards
Apart from the moving of polling districts in Tampines West from Aljunied GRC to Tampines GRC, electoral boundaries for the other Workers’ Party-held wards of Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC remain unchanged.
This is in keeping with the EBRC’s past practice of leaving opposition wards largely intact.
The other constituencies with status quo boundaries are Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Jalan Besar GRC, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Nee Soon GRC and the SMCs of Bukit Panjang, Marymount and Pioneer.
Read the full report here.
Anjali Raguraman is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers politics, as well as consumer stories spanning tourism, retail and F&B.
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