Off the wire
• Kiwi gov't extends underwriting of venture investment fund  • this is a test file  • Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1000 GMT, July 13  • 3rd LD-Writethru-China Focus: China's foreign trade remains lackluster, but outlook brightens  • Weather forecast for world cities -- July 13  • Weather forecast for major Chinese cities, regions -- July 13  • China-DPRK border trade zone approved  • Silk Road cities to join Xinjiang forum  • Alibaba partners for mould-breaking home entertainment package  • Moody's downgrades Asian steel outlook  
You are here: 　 Home

S'pore forms electoral boundaries review committee for upcoming elections

Xinhua, July 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday in Parliament that an electoral boundaries review committee had been formed two months ago, hinting that the next general election could be around the corner.

The formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, which reviews and draws constituency boundaries ahead of a general election, is often seen as one of the final steps in the run-up to polls.

The committee will submit a report to the prime minister, which includes advice on whether to split or combine current group representation constituencies. Previously ahead of the 2006 and 2011 general elections, the committee had taken four months before submitting the report.

Lee didn't give any specific date for the publication of the report, but said he has asked the committee to consider the population shifts and housing developments since the last boundary delineation exercise, the Strait Times reported.

He also asked it to consider having smaller group representation constituencies, "so as to reduce the average size of such constituencies to below five members," and to have at least 12 single member constituencies.

There are currently 15 group representation constituencies and 12 single-seat constituencies.

When the report is revealed and taken by the Parliament, the writ of election will be issued and there follows the campaigning period, which would take at least nine days.

Singapore's next general election must be held by January 2017. Endi