GE2020 explainer: Does my SMC or GRC remain the same every election?

If you were in Sengkang West SMC during the last election, are you in the same constituency for the upcoming election?

In short, no. For the 2020 general election, Sengkang West SMC will cease to exist and instead its constituents will either belong to the newly-formed Seng Kang GRC or be absorbed into Ang Mo Kio GRC. 

Why is that so? The short explanation is electoral boundaries are reviewed just before every general election and they are redrawn based on population shifts across Singapore.

Hence, even if you are living in the same house that you were in during the last election your constituency may have still changed.

Read on to delve deeper into the considerations that are made every time electoral boundaries are looked at. 

Why do electoral boundaries change and how is it determined?

One of the key reasons behind electoral boundaries changing is to ensure the number of electors per MPs falls within a reasonable range. For the 2020 general election, the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC), which is responsible for carving up the electoral boundaries, fixed this to be 20,000 to 38,000 electors. 

From one election to the next, new housing developments are built and with it an increase in the population of that area. Likewise, in older estates, there might be a decline in the number of people who stay there. 

Thus changes to electoral boundaries have to be made, to keep the number of voters per MP within the recommended range, whether it is in SMCs or GRCs. 

In the case of Sengkang West SMC, the number of electors swelled up to 47,891, which is above the ceiling of 38,000 electors set for SMCs. Hence, when the electoral boundaries were announced for the upcoming election, residents here were redistributed.  

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The EBRC also has to bear in mind that the Parliamentary Elections Act mandates that there must be at least eight SMCs and at least one-quarter of the total number of MPs must be in GRCs.

Additionally, the Prime Minister, who is the one who appoints the EBRC, gives his own guidelines and terms of reference.

According to the final report that was accepted in 2020, the EBRC created smaller GRCs to further reduce the average size of GRCs and to have more than 13 SMCs.

This was similar to what Lee had said in Parliament in 2016 that the next general election would see smaller GRCs on average and more single seat wards to “strike the right balance”.  

Smaller GRCs can create a closer connection between MPs and residents, while SMCs are easier to contest, he added. 

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What changes have been made for the upcoming election?

Overall, about 13 per cent of voters will find themselves in a new constituency, compared to the 19 per cent during the 2015 election. There are 14 SMCs and 17 GRCs for the 2020 election and these are the key changes.

1. A new GRC

The new Sengkang GRC is made up of Punggol East SMC and parts of Sengkang West SMC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. 

Other than the population growth in Sengkang West, Punggol East also saw its number of electors increase. 

2. Four new SMCs added, three SMCs removed

The new SMCs are Kebun Baru, Marymount, Punggol West and Yio Chu Kang. 

The ones that got the chop are Punggol East, Sengkang West and Fengshan SMCs. Parts of Punggol East and Sengkang West were taken into the new Sengkang GRC, while Fengshan has been absorbed into East Coast GRC.

3. No more six-member GRCs 

In line with the terms of reference to reduce the average size of GRCs, six-member GRCS have been shrunk to five-member GRCs. There are now 11 five-member and six four-member GRCs.

This change brings down the average number of MPs per GRC from 4.75 to 4.65. 

TL;DR A new Sengkang GRC, four new SMCs in North-East Singapore, removal of three existing SMCs and farewell six-member GRCs. 

How do I find out if my constituency has changed?

Enter your postal code here and you can find out which constituency you will be voting in for the upcoming general election. You will also be able to find out which candidates and parties will be contesting in your constituency once nomination day (June 30) comes to end.   

Are you a first time voter or perhaps just not all too familiar with what happens during a general election? Click here to read everything you need to know about GE2020.

yukiling@asiaone.com