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 or constituencies in Singapore
This is an electoral division that has a single Member of Parliament (MP) representing the interests of those residents in the constituency.
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.
We currently have a total of 12 SMCs.
The list of SMCs today is set out below.
SMC Name
No. of Electors
Bukit Panjang
32,100
Hong Kah North
26,816
Hougang
23,799
Joo Chiat
20,867
Mountbatten
22,290
Pioneer
24,997
Potong Pasir
16,854
Punggol East
32,225
Radin Mas
29,376
Sengkang West
27,433
Whampoa
20,779
Yuhua
22,201
Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs)
This is usually a larger electoral division, both in terms of population as well as physical area. A group of Members of Parliament (MPs) represents the interests of those residents in the constituency.
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.
The group may be made up of 3, 4, 5 or 6 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 whose MP 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.
Currently, there are a total of 15 GRCs, represented by a total of 75 MPs.
The list of GRCs today is set out below. Table A are those which the President has designated that at least one of their MPs must belong to the Malay community. Table B are those one of whose MPs must belong to the Indian or other minority communities.
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