86-431: The Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north eastern region of Singapore . The constituency encompasses the majority of Ang Mo Kio (Teck Ghee, Cheng San-Seletar, portions of Yio Chu Kang ), Seletar Hills, the northern half of Serangoon North , a portion of northern Hougang and a portion of Fernvale . The western portion consists of parts of
172-510: A multiracial Parliament instead of one made up of a single race. Speaking in Parliament during the debate on whether GRCs should be introduced, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Goh Chok Tong said he had first discussed the necessity of ensuring the multiracial nature of Parliament with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in July 1982. Then, Lee had expressed concern about
258-734: A one-party state . There are two opposition parties in the 14th Parliament of Singapore as of 2020 - The Workers' Party and the Progress Singapore Party . There are other major op parties such as the Singapore People's Party , Reform Party , and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), that do not hold a seat in parliament. J.B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party became the first opposition party member of parliament in 15 years when he won
344-541: A simple plurality voting ("winner takes all") basis. A by-election need not be held to fill a vacancy in any GRC triggered by the death or resignation of an MP, even if there are no other minority candidates in that GRC, or any other reason. A by-election is required only if all the MPs in a GRC vacate their Parliamentary seats. Assuming that such a situation does arise, the Prime Minister would be obliged to call
430-533: A " flawed democracy " in 2022. Freedom House deemed the press "not free" in 2015. In the 2020 election, the PAP won 83 out of 93 seats, or 89% of the seats in Singapore's parliament. The remaining seats are split between the Workers' Party , which won 10, and the Progress Singapore Party , which won 2 Non-constituency Member of Parliament seats. One commonly cited reason for a lack of opposition in Singapore
516-456: A 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a democracy. Laws restricting the freedom of speech exist to prohibit speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. For example, in September 2005, three bloggers were convicted of sedition for posting racist remarks targeting minorities. Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning and
602-457: A 1981 by-election . Despite acquiring an increasing percentage of the popular vote—34% overall in 2006—opposition parties gained small numbers of seats in the general elections of 1984 (2 seats of 79), 1988 (1 seat of 81), 1991 (4 seats of 81), 1997 (2 seats of 83) and 2001 (2 seats of 84). The opposition parties attribute the disproportionate results to the nature of the GRC system . As of July 2020,
688-403: A GRC ward returns five or six candidates into Parliament, compared with one vote in a SMC ward, which only returns one. In counterbalance it dilutes electors' voting power and may result in concerns raised taken less seriously as to lobbying/correspondence. Specifically, in an SMC ward are around 14,000 voters, compared to 140,000 voters in a five- or six-member GRC. Thus, the per-candidate power of
774-402: A GRC with a rapidly expanding population is properly managed. As the population of a constituency grows, it becomes increasingly difficult for an MP to singlehandedly represent the views of all constituents. A team of MPs arguably has greater access to more constituents, and the fact that there are different MPs in the team suggests they can more effectively provide representation in Parliament of
860-416: A SMC ward. The national average for the 2006 elections was 66.6%. Similar trends can be seen from previous elections. The gap grew from 3% in 1991, and remained stable at around 5% in the 1997 , 2001 and 2006 elections. This may be attributable to the enlargement of the size of GRCs in 1997 which gave greater effect to the law of large numbers. Politics of Singapore [REDACTED] Singapore
946-638: A Workers' Party of Singapore team in Aljunied GRC at the 2011 general election . It is also said that GRCs serve more as administrative tools than to ensure minority representation. The size of GRCs was increased to take advantage of economies of scale when managing the wards. However, whether GRCs are required for this purpose is arguable, as Goh Chok Tong stated in 1988 that MPs in SMCs could still group together after elections to enjoy economies of scale. The GRC scheme has also been criticized for raising
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#17327981292621032-417: A bill, known as a private member's bill. All bills must go through three readings in parliament and receive the president's assent to become an act of Parliament . Each bill goes through several stages before it becomes a law. The first stage is a mere formality known as the first reading , where it is introduced without a debate. This is followed by the second reading , where members of parliament debate on
1118-547: A by-election within a reasonable time, unless he intends to call a general election in the near future. As Article 39A of the Constitution states, the GRC scheme entrenches the presence of minority MPs in Parliament, ensuring that interests of minority communities are represented in Parliament. Article 39A(1)(a) of the Constitution allows for a maximum number of six MPs for each GRC so as to provide flexibility in ensuring that
1204-412: A common race, culture and language. Derek da Cunha has proposed that the law of large numbers favours the GRC system. According to the theory, the large number of voters from GRC wards generally, though not necessarily always, reflects the popular vote. This was evident at the 2006 elections, at which the PAP garnered an average of 67.04% of the votes in a contested GRC, while the average was 61.67% for
1290-413: A gamble and commit huge proportions of their resources to contest GRCs. Each candidate in a GRC is required to deposit a sum equal to 8% of the total allowances payable to an MP in the calendar year preceding the election, rounded to the nearest S$ 500. At the 2011 general election, the deposit was $ 16,000. Unsuccessful candidates have their deposits forfeited if they do not receive at least one-eighth of
1376-565: A group. Each voter of a GRC casts a ballot for a team of candidates, and not for individual candidates. The GRC scheme was brought into existence on 1 June 1988 by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1988 and the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act 1988. The original stated purpose of GRCs was to guarantee a minimum representation of minorities in Parliament and ensure that there would always be
1462-460: A means of bringing in politically inexperienced candidates into Parliament by " riding on the coattails " of GRCs helmed by senior politicians, including "anchor" ministers. Moreover, the GRC scheme is also said to disadvantage opposition parties because it is more difficult for them to find enough candidates with the political expertise to contest GRCs. Furthermore, it is said that the GRC scheme means that electors may have unequal voting power, weakens
1548-530: A minority community. However, Malay MPs were upset that this implied they were not electable on their own merits. Feeling that the twinning of constituencies would lead to Malay MPs losing confidence and self-respect, the Government dropped the proposal. Therefore, the Government felt that the best way to ensure minority representation in Parliament was to introduce the GRC scheme. In addition, it took
1634-494: A single homogeneous community out of the many races that form the population of the Republic. The third proposal was to have an upper house in Parliament composed of members elected or nominated to represent the racial, linguistic and religious minorities in Singapore. However, this was rejected as being backward-looking since politicians should attain a seat in Parliament through taking part in elections. In 1988, 39 SMCs were grouped into 13 three-member GRCs, making up 39 out of
1720-587: A team of between three and six candidates. At least one candidate in the team must belong to a minority race. Formerly, there were no GRCs, and all constituencies of Singapore were represented by one member, but amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act in 1991 led to the creation of GRCs, thus creating a plurality voting system in the process. This development has led to complaints from opposition parties that they are often unable to field one, let alone three or more candidates. Out of
1806-487: A total of 81 elected seats in Parliament. The Constitution and the Parliamentary Elections Act were changed in 1991 and again in 1996 to increase the maximum number of MPs in each GRC from three to four, and then to six. In the 2001 general election , three- and four-member GRCs were replaced by five- and six-member GRCs. There were nine five-member GRCs and five six-member GRCs, making up 75 out of
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#17327981292621892-646: A tribunal consisting of not less than three judges of the Supreme Court . Singaporean courts, like the courts in Australia, cannot offer advisory opinion on the constitutionality of laws. Part IV of the constitution guarantees the following: The sections on liberty of the person and freedoms of speech, assembly, movement, association and religion are all qualified by allowing Parliament to restrict those freedoms for reasons including national security, public health, and "public order or morality". In practice,
1978-424: A wide range of constituents' views. The official justification for the GRC scheme is to entrench minority representation in Parliament. However, opposition parties have questioned the usefulness of GRCs in fulfilling this purpose, especially since Singapore has not faced the issue of minorities being under-represented in Parliament. In fact, statistics show that all PAP minority candidates have won regularly and that
2064-529: Is a parliamentary representative democratic republic in which the president of Singapore is the head of state , the prime minister of Singapore is the head of government , and of a multi-party system . Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet from the parliament, and to a lesser extent, the president . Cabinet has the general direction and control of the government and is accountable to Parliament. There are three separate branches of government:
2150-506: Is a GRC returns the number of MPs designated for the constituency by the President to serve in Parliament. A group of individuals standing together in a GRC is voted for as a team, and not as individual candidates. In other words, a successful voter's single vote in an SMC sends to Parliament one MP, and a GRC sends a group of MPs from the same single list depending on how many have been designated for that GRC. All elected MPs are selected on
2236-722: Is a department under the Prime Minister's Office. Paper ballots are still used in Singapore. However, there is a concern that voting secrecy might be compromised as ballot papers have serial numbers on them. As stated in the Elections Department website: The PAP has been the dominant political party in Singapore, re-elected continuously since 1959. It is headed by Lee Hsien Loong , who succeeded Goh Chok Tong . Goh's predecessor Lee Kuan Yew served as Singapore's prime minister from independence through 1990. Since stepping down as prime minister, Lee remained influential as Senior Minister and Minister Mentor . PAP has held
2322-650: Is determined by two committees appointed by the President, the Malay Community Committee and the Indian and Other Minority Communities Committee. Decisions of these committees are final and conclusive, and may not be appealed against or called into question in any court. The President, at the Cabinet's direction, declares the electoral divisions that are to be GRCs; the number of candidates (three to six) to stand for Parliament in each GRC; and whether
2408-724: Is generally done just before a general election to review the boundaries of electoral divisions and recommend changes. In recent decades, the Committee has been chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and has had four other members who are senior public servants. In the EBRC appointed before the general election of 2006 , these were the head of the Elections Department , the Chief Executive Officer of
2494-508: Is headed by a prime minister, the head of government. The current prime minister is Lawrence Wong . Neither the prime minister nor members of the cabinet are elected by parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president, then Cabinet members, also known as ministers, are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister. The cabinet in Singapore collectively decides the government's policies and has influence over lawmaking by introducing bills. Ministers in Singapore are
2580-504: Is the use of defamation lawsuits by the PAP to bankrupt political opponents and disqualify them from running for office when accusations were made against the ruling party. Cases include former leader of the WP J. B. Jeyaretnam and leader of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Chee Soon Juan , who were bankrupted in 2001 and 2011 respectively. Another reason given is the pursuit of legal action against journalists and bloggers critical of
2666-706: The Cabinet , taking into consideration the recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee. Per the Constitution and the PEA, there must be between three and six MPs in a GRC. The number of MPs in each GRC is declared by the President at the Cabinet's direction before a general election . For the purposes of the 2020 general election , there were 14 SMCs and 17 GRCs, each returning four or five MPs. Reception towards to
Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-721: The Central Catchment Nature Reserve , while in the northeastern corner, it borders the Straits of Johor with two reclaimed islands, Pulau Punggol Barat and Pulau Punggol Timor. The northeast also includes the Sengkang Floating Wetland . This GRC has 5 wards: Teck Ghee, Cheng San- Seletar, Fernvale, Jalan Kayu and Ang Mo Kio-Hougang by Ang Mo Kio Town Council. The current Members of Parliament are Darryl David , Nadia Ahmad Samdin , Ng Ling Ling , Gan Thiam Poh and Lee Hsien Loong from
2838-564: The Elections Department , which is under the control of the Prime Minister's Office. Electoral boundaries are redrawn just a few days before the general election. There have been accusations of gerrymandering via dissolving of constituencies with relatively stronger opposition support, such as the Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (GRC). In July 2020, the ruling party, The People’s Action Party (PAP), won 83 out of 93 seats and 61.2% of
2924-596: The People's Action Party (PAP) since the 1959 general election when Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister (Singapore was then a self-governing state within the British Empire). The PAP has been the only ruling party to form the government since then. Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and gained independence in 1965 after being expelled. Singapore has consistently been rated as
3010-529: The People's Action Party (PAP). ^ Balaji died in his sleep on 27 September 2010 due to cancer relapse. Group Representation Constituency A group representation constituency ( GRC ) is a type of electoral division or constituency in Singapore in which teams of candidates, instead of individual candidates, compete to be elected into Parliament as the Members of Parliament (MPs) for
3096-592: The Prime Minister from time to time by notification in the Government Gazette . Since 1954, a year ahead of the 1955 general election , an Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has been appointed to advise the executive on the number and geographical division of electoral divisions. Even though neither the Constitution nor any law requires this to be done, the Prime Minister has continued to do so from Singapore's independence in 1965. This
3182-773: The Singapore Land Authority , the Deputy CEO of the Housing and Development Board and the Acting Chief Statistician. Since the Committee is only convened shortly before general elections, the preparatory work for boundary delimitation is done by its secretariat the Elections Department, which is a division of the Prime Minister's Office . The EBRC's terms of reference are issued by the Prime Minister, and are not embodied in legislation. In giving recommendations for boundary changes over
3268-527: The Speech from the Throne given by the heads of state in other parliamentary systems, the president delivers an address written by the government at the opening of parliament about what kind of policies to expect in the coming year. The current president is Tharman Shanmugaratnam . The cabinet forms the executive of the government and it is answerable to parliament. It consist of sitting members of parliament and
3354-514: The death penalty is in place for murder and drug trafficking . In order to become president, the candidate: The president now exercises powers over the following: However, the president must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers before taking a decision on some of these matters. The council consists of A member of the council serves a six-year term and is eligible for re-appointment for further terms of four years each. Similar to
3440-495: The least-corrupt country in Asia and amongst the top ten cleanest in the world by Transparency International . The World Bank's governance indicators have also rated Singapore highly on rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness. However, it is widely perceived that some aspects of the political process, civil liberties, and political and human rights are lacking. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Singapore
3526-520: The legislature , executive and judiciary abiding by the Westminster system . Singapore has been described as being a de facto one-party state . Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Singapore . The legislature is the parliament , which consists of the president as its head and a single chamber whose members are elected by popular vote. The role of
Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-448: The 84 elected seats in Parliament. This arrangement remained unchanged at the 2006 elections. On 27 May 2009, the Government announced that it would refine the size and number of GRCs. This could be achieved without amending either the Constitution or the Parliamentary Elections Act. Instead, when the next EBRC was appointed, its terms of reference would instruct the Committee to plan for fewer six-member GRCs than at present, and to reduce
3698-475: The 93 members of parliament, 26 are female. In the 2001 and 2006 general election, the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP) won the same configuration of 82 out of the 84 seats. The final results of the 2020 general election saw a 8.62% swing against the PAP from the 2015 elections of 69.86%. The constitution also provides for the appointment of other members of parliament not voted in at an election. Up to six non-constituency members of parliament from
3784-399: The GRC system is mixed, with some critics disagreeing with the government's justifications for introducing the scheme, noting that the proportion of minority MPs per GRC has rather decreased with the advent of five-member and six-member GRCs, although the latter was not present in the 2020 general election. In addition, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has been described as using GRCs as
3870-470: The Malay community if, regardless of whether or not he or she is of the Malay race, considers himself or herself to be a member of the community and is generally accepted as such by the community. Similarly, a person will belong to the Indian community or some other minority community if he or she considers himself or herself a member and the community accepts him or her as such. The minority status of candidates
3956-474: The PAP and its policies. Reporters Without Borders cites such lawsuits, along with attempts at making critical journalists unemployable, among its concerns when ranking the country 151st in the world for press freedom in 2017. The PAP has in the past threatened voters by saying that constituencies voting for opposition MPs would be put at the bottom of the list for public housing programs. In 1998, then PAP secretary-general, Goh Chok Tong said, "By linking
4042-530: The Public Service, in response to Poa, said WP and PSP also relied on the "star power" of Low Thia Khiang and Tan Cheng Bock to win Aljunied GRC in 2011 and PSP having NCMPs now in parliament. Leader of the Opposition and Workers' Party 's (WP) chief Pritam Singh also highlighted the usage of GRC for gerrymandering, citing the merging of SMCs, in close contest between PAP and WP, into GRC in
4128-425: The average size of each GRC. The average size of GRCs at that time was 5.4 MPs because there were only five-member and six-member GRCs. The new average, however, would not exceed five MPs. In addition, to ensure that the number of SMCs kept pace with the increase in voters and hence the number of MPs, the EBRC's terms of reference would state that there should be at least 12 SMCs. The rationale given for these changes
4214-424: The ballot in a GRC is lower than in an SMC, as each voter in a GRC finds it harder to vote out an MP that he or she does not like; but the overall power effect is the same. Malapportionment is a viable charge against some divisions as a 30% deviation from equality of electorate is tolerated. It follows, a five-member GRC could in theory have from 91,000 voters to 86% more: 169,000 voters. Critics have noted that
4300-405: The bar for the opposition in elections. First, opposition parties may find it harder to find competent candidates, including minority candidates, to form teams to contest GRCs. Goh Chok Tong has acknowledged that the GRC scheme benefits the PAP as they can put together stronger teams. With the GRC system the threshold for votes for the opposition is also increased, and opposition parties have to take
4386-483: The bill will go through its third reading where only minor amendments will be allowed before it is passed. Most bills passed by parliament are scrutinised by the Presidential Council for Minority Rights which makes a report to the speaker of Parliament stating whether there are clauses in a bill which affects any racial or religious community. If approved by the council, the bill will be presented for
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#17327981292624472-458: The coat-tails of the established PAP members. Since 1991, the PAP has generally not fielded first-time candidates in SMC wards. On the other hand, one of the "in-built weaknesses" of GRCs may be that "through no fault of their own or that of their team", "high-value" MPs can be voted out; this was said to have occurred when former Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo lost his parliamentary seat to
4558-454: The coattails of more established teammates, reduced voters’ choice over election results. During the parliament debate, Poa mentioned vacancies in the GRC when MPs resign from their seat midterm, citing Halimah Yacob 's resignation in 2017 to contest in the 2017 Singaporean presidential election and Tharman Shanmugaratnam 's upcoming resignation to contest in the 2023 Singaporean presidential election . Chan Chun Sing , Minister-in-charge of
4644-635: The constituency. Synonymous to the party block voting (PBV) or the general ticket used in other countries, the Government stated that the GRC scheme was primarily implemented to enshrine minority representation in Parliament: at least one of the MPs in a GRC must be a member of the Malay , Indian or another minority community of Singapore. In addition, it was economical for town councils, which manage public housing estates , to handle larger constituencies. The GRC scheme came into effect on 1 June 1988, and
4730-449: The continued efficiency and corruption-free status of Singapore's "world-class" government. On 21 May 2011, following the 2011 general election, the Prime Minister announced that a committee would be appointed to review politicians' remuneration , and that revised salaries would take effect from that date. The unicameral Singaporean parliament is the legislature in Singapore with the president as its head. Before independence in 1965, it
4816-405: The courts have given complete discretion to the government in imposing such restrictions. Part XII of the constitution allows the Parliament of Singapore to enact legislation designed to stop or prevent subversion . Such legislation is valid even if it is inconsistent with Part IV of the constitution. The Internal Security Act (ISA) is a legislation under such provision. In 1966, Chia Thye Poh
4902-419: The credibility and accountability of some candidates may be reduced because in a GRC the members of the team who are popular "protect" less popular members from being voted out. It has been said that the relationship between the electorate and their representatives is also weakened, because the relationship is between the individual and the GRC team rather than between the individual and a particular MP. Improving
4988-488: The critical mass of residents that they needed to be effective. Three proposals for minority representation in Parliament had been considered by a 1966 Constitutional Commission chaired by the Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin . The first was to have a committee of representatives of minorities that would elect three persons from amongst its members to represent minorities in Parliament. However, this
5074-419: The general principles of the bill. If parliament opposes the bill, it may vote to reject the bill. If the bill goes through the second reading, the bill is sent to a select committee where every clause in the bill is examined. Members of parliament who support the bill in principle but do not agree with certain clauses can propose amendments to those clauses at this stage. Following its report back to parliament,
5160-461: The highest paid politicians in the world, receiving a 60% salary raise in 2007 and as a result Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's pay jumped to S$ 3.1 million, five times the US$ 400,000 earned by US President Barack Obama . Although there was a public outcry regarding the high salary in comparison to the size of the country governed, the government's firm stance was that this raise was required to ensure
5246-496: The link between voters and MPs, and to make the latter more accountable was the reason for the changes proposed in 2009 to introduce more SMCs and to reduce the size of GRCs. Even though the GRC scheme is intended to ensure minority representation in Parliament, it can be said that the scheme emphasizes racial consciousness and hence widens the gap between races. It may undermine the esteem of minority candidates as they would not be sure if they are elected on their own merit, or due to
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#17327981292625332-470: The minority candidates in each GRC are to be from the Malay, Indian, or other minority communities. The number of GRCs in which at least one MP must be from the Malay community must be three-fifths of the total number of GRCs, and the number of MPs to be returned by all GRCs cannot be less than a quarter of the total number of MPs to be returned at a general election. For the 2011 general election , there were 14 SMCs and 17 GRCs. An electoral division which
5418-419: The minority member of the GRC left. Furthermore, the GRC scheme is now used as a recruiting tool for the PAP. In 2006, Goh Chok Tong stated, "Without some assurance of a good chance of winning at least their first election, many able and successful young Singaporeans may not risk their careers to join politics". Every PAP GRC team is helmed by a major figure such as a minister, and allowed candidates to ride on
5504-506: The next election. WP also called for the abolition of GRCs. Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean responded that accusations of gerrymandering existed long ago and asked Singh to suggest to EBRC to break up opposition held GRCs into SMCs. Parliament rejected the motion. Apart from the requirement that there must be at least eight SMCs, the total number of SMCs and GRCs in Singapore and their boundaries are not fixed. The number of electoral divisions and their names and boundaries are specified by
5590-539: The only two MPs to lose their seats in 1984 were "racially" Chinese. One of them was beaten by a minority candidate. In addition, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam of the WP won a by-election in 1981 at Anson , a largely Chinese constituency, and the first elected Chief Minister of Singapore was David Marshall who was Jewish. Technically, as the size of GRCs has increased, the minority has had less representation overall as
5676-488: The opposition political parties can be appointed. Currently, there are two non-constituency members of parliament. A constitutional provision for the appointment of up to nine nominated members of parliament (NMPs) was made in 1990. NMPs are appointed by the president for a term of two and a half years on the recommendation of a select committee chaired by the speaker of Parliament and are not connected to any political parties. The youngest NMP to be sworn into parliament
5762-415: The overwhelming majority of seats in parliament since 1966 when the opposition Barisan Sosialis Party resigned from parliament and left the PAP as the sole representative party. PAP won all of the seats in an expanding parliament in the general elections of 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980. PAP's share of the popular vote in contested seats declined from 78% in 1980 to 65% in 1997. However, the elections of 2001 saw
5848-465: The party's share of the popular vote climb to 75%, winning 82 of the 84 seats. The 2006 Singapore general election marked the first time since 1988 the PAP did not return to power on nomination day, with the opposition parties fielding candidates in over half of the constituencies. Overall PAP saw its share of the vote fall to 66.6%. The dominance of the PAP, often to the extent that there is no effective opposition, has led to Singapore being described as
5934-468: The popular vote in the general election , meaning PAP won its 13th consecutive general election since Singapore’s independence. However, the result was a significant decline from the 2015 election . Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and British Indian laws, including many elements of English common law , the PAP has also consistently rejected liberal democratic values , which it typifies as Western and states that there should not be
6020-455: The president as the head of state has been, historically, largely ceremonial although the constitution was amended in 1991 to give the president some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary , Civil Service and Singapore Armed Forces posts. They also exercise powers over civil service appointments and national security matters. Singaporean politics have been dominated by
6106-442: The president's assent. The last stage involves the granting of assent by the president, before the bill officially becomes a law. The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore and it is a codified constitution . The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament on the second and third readings. The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues from
6192-432: The priority of upgrading to electoral support, we focus the minds of voters on the link between upgrading and the people whose policies make it possible. This has the desired result.". As recently as 2011 Lee Hsien Loong expressed that there has to be a distinction between opposition wards and the ones that voted for the PAP in terms of housing upgrades. The boundaries of electoral constituencies in Singapore are decided by
6278-534: The proportion of minority MPs per GRC has been reduced. Since minority MPs are a numerical minority in Parliament, their political clout has also been reduced. In February 2017, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing said that if a minority candidate leaves their group representation constituency (GRC), a by-election will not be called. Chan claimed that the goals of having enough minority members in Parliament, and to ensure no political campaign on issues of race and religion, would still be met even if
6364-400: The relationship between electors and MPs, and entrenches racialism in Singapore politics due to its emphasis on minority representation. There are two types of electoral division or constituency in Singapore : the single member constituency (SMC) and the group representation constituency (GRC). In a GRC, a number of candidates comes together to stand for elections to Parliament as
6450-478: The scheme and the merits of the rest of the team of MPs. This would result in minority candidates resenting that they are dependent on the majority to enter Parliament, and the majority candidates believing that minority candidates have insufficient ability. It has also been claimed that the GRC scheme demeans the majority of Singaporeans as it assumes that they are not able to see the value or merit of minority candidates, and only vote for candidates with whom they share
6536-483: The total number of votes polled in the GRC. Critics have noted that the number of walkovers has generally increased since the introduction of GRCs. To date, only one opposition party, the Workers' Party, has won GRCs: Aljunied, in the 2011 general election, and Sengkang, in the 2020 general election. GRCs have been criticized as giving unequal voting and lobbying (correspondence) powers between electors. Every ballot in
6622-451: The view that such a scheme would complement the introduction of town councils to manage public housing estates , as it would be economical for a town council to manage a group of three constituencies. Subsequently, in 1991, the Government said that GRCs also minimized the need to redraw the boundaries of constituencies which had grown too big for the MPs serving them, and, in 1996, GRCs were said to provide Community Development Councils with
6708-409: The voting patterns of younger Singaporeans, who appeared to be apathetic to the need of having a racially balanced slate of candidates. He was also worried about more Singaporeans voting along racial lines, which would lead to a lack of minority representation in Parliament. Lee had also proposed to twin constituencies and have Members of Parliament (MPs) contest as a pair, one of whom had to be from
6794-459: The years, the Committee has considered various factors, including using hill ridges, rivers and roads as boundaries rather than arbitrarily drawn lines; and the need for electoral divisions to have approximately equal numbers of voters so that electors' votes carry the same weight regardless of where they cast their ballots. In 1963, the EBRC adopted a rule allowing the numbers of voters in divisions to differ by no more than 20%. The permitted deviation
6880-482: Was 26 years old, Yip Pin Xiu . In 2018, nine NMPs were sworn in, out of which five were female. Both non-constituency and nominated members of parliament cannot vote on the following issues: Before any law is passed, it is first introduced in parliament as a draft known as a bill. Bills are usually introduced by a minister on behalf of the cabinet, known as government bills. However, any member of parliament can introduce
6966-511: Was detained under the ISA and was imprisoned for 23 years without trial. Afterwards, he was placed under conditions of house arrest for another nine years. Voting has been compulsory in Singapore since 1959 and there is universal suffrage . The legal voting age is 21. The Elections Department of Singapore is responsible for the planning, preparation and conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections and of any national referendum in Singapore. It
7052-490: Was first introduced at the general election that same year . Prior to that date, all constituencies were Single Member Constituencies (SMCs). The Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 218, 2008 Rev. Ed.) ("PEA") states that there must be at least eight SMCs, and the number of MPs to be returned by all GRCs cannot be less than a quarter of the total number of MPs. Within those parameters the total number of SMCs and GRCs in Singapore and their boundaries are not fixed but are decided by
7138-412: Was increased to 30% in 1980. It is up to the Cabinet to decide whether or not to accept the Committee's recommendations. All the candidates in a GRC must either be members of the same political party or independent candidates standing as a group, and at least one of the candidates must be a person belonging to the Malay, Indian or some other minority community. A person is regarded as belonging to
7224-544: Was known as the Legislative Assembly . It currently consists of 93 members of parliament. The maximum term of any one parliament is five years, after which a general election must be held within three months of the dissolution of parliament . The 93 elected members of parliament (MPs) are elected on a plurality voting basis and represent either single-member constituencies (SMCs) or group representation constituencies (GRCs). In GRCs, political parties field
7310-534: Was rejected as the Commission felt that it would be an inappropriate and retrogressive move in that unelected members should not be allowed to dilute the elected chamber. The second proposal, which was to have proportional representation , was also rejected on the grounds that it would intensify party politics along racial lines and eventually "perpetuate and accentuate racial differences". This would then make it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve
7396-401: Was that the GRC scheme would work better and the link between voters and their MPs would be strengthened. In the 2011 general election, SMCs returned to Parliament 12 MPs and 15 GRCs a total of 75 MPs. In 2023, Progress Singapore Party 's (PSP) non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), Hazel Poa , raised a private member’s motion to abolish GRC, citing outcomes where candidates ride on
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