Electoral divisions (also called constituencies) are areas within Singapore demarcated by the Prime Minister by law for the purposes of Parliamentary elections and Presidential elections.
Each electoral division is sub-divided into many smaller areas known as polling districts and each polling district will have its own polling station.
A register of electors is prepared for each electoral division.
There are 2 types of electoral divisions in Singapore:
Single Member Constituencies (SMCs)
- An SMC is an electoral division that has a single Member of Parliament (MP) representing the interests of those residents in the electoral division.
- Thus, during a by-election in the SMC or a general election, the registered electors of the SMC will vote for a single individual to be their MP.
- The Parliamentary Elections Act requires that there must be at least 8 SMCs at any time.
Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs)
- A GRC is a larger electoral division, both in terms of population as well as physical area. A group of MPs represents the interests of those residents in the electoral division.
- Thus, during a general election or by-election in the GRC, the registered electors of the GRC will vote for a group of individuals to be their MPs, who must be from the same political party or are all independents.
- The group may be made up of three to six individuals. The President declares the group number for each GRC by law.
- At least one of the MPs in the group representing a GRC must belong to a minority racial community, either the Malay community or the Indian and other minority communities.
- By law, the President designates the GRCs for which at least one of the MPs in the electoral division must belong to one of these minority racial communities. However, the number of GRCs that can be designated as those belonging to the Malay community cannot be more than three-fifths the total number of GRCs, rounded to the next higher whole number.
- The GRC system was established in 1988 to ensure that the minority racial communities in Singapore will always be represented in Parliament. To ensure this, the Parliamentary Elections Act requires that at least one-quarter of the total number of MPs must be representatives of GRCs.
There are a total of 2,715,187 electors in the Registers of Electors of the 31 electoral divisions as of 21 Jul 2024. The list of electoral divisions and the number of electors in each electoral division is set out below.
Table A: SMCs
| SMC Name | No. of Electors |
|---|---|
| Bukit Batok | 29,685 |
| Bukit Panjang | 33,518 |
| Hong Kah North | 38,929 |
| Hougang | 29,047 |
| Kebun Baru | 21,943 |
| MacPherson | 26,743 |
| Marymount | 23,152 |
| Mountbatten | 26,910 |
| Pioneer | 25,148 |
| Potong Pasir | 31,268 |
| Punggol West | 26,769 |
| Radin Mas | 22,872 |
| Yio Chu Kang | 24,961 |
| Yuhua | 20,362 |
Table B: GRCs with at least one member belonging to the
Malay community
| GRC Name | No. of MPs | No. of Electors |
|---|---|---|
| Aljunied | 5 | 146,742 |
| Bishan-Toa Payoh | 4 | 97,757 |
| Chua Chu Kang | 4 | 107,707 |
| East Coast | 5 | 121,916 |
| Jalan Besar | 4 | 104,241 |
| Marine Parade | 5 | 137,988 |
| Marsiling-Yew Tee | 4 | 118,040 |
| Pasir Ris-Punggol | 5 | 180,319 |
| Sembawang | 5 | 155,783 |
| Sengkang | 4 | 124,871 |
| Tampines | 5 | 164,462 |
Table C: GRCs with at least one member belonging to the
Indian or other minority communities
| GRC Name | No. of MPs | No. of Electors |
|---|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio | 5 | 188,820 |
| Holland-Bukit Timah | 4 | 118,750 |
| Jurong | 5 | 130,785 |
| Nee Soon | 5 | 150,787 |
| Tanjong Pagar | 5 | 137,762 |
| West Coast | 5 | 147,150 |
Data as of 21 Jul 2024