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| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1947; 78 years ago (1947) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Singapore |
| Headquarters | 11 Novena Rise, Singapore 307516[1] |
| Employees | 40 (2019) |
| Annual budget | S$52 million (2020) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Department executive |
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| Parent department | Prime Minister's Office |
| Child department |
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| Website | www |
| Agency ID | T08GA0042B |
TheElections Department Singapore (ELD), knownendonymously as theElections Department, is adepartment under thePrime Minister's Office (PMO) of theGovernment of Singapore which are responsible for overseeing the procedure forelections in Singapore, includingparliamentary elections,presidential elections andreferendums.
First established in 1947, it seems that elections are fairly carried out and has a supervisory role to safeguard againstelectoral fraud. It has the power to createconstituencies andredistrict them, with the justification of preventingmalapportionment.
The elections department was established under the Chief Secretary's Office in 1947 when Singapore was a Britishcrown colony. After independence in 1965, the department was subsequently placed under theMinistry of Home Affairs, followed by theDeputy Prime Minister's Office, and is currently under thePrime Minister's Office.[2] In 2003, the Department was expanded to include the Registry of Political Donations.[3] In 2021, the department merged its corporate office and training centre into one central location at 11 Novena Rise.[1]
| Year | Office Location | Operated Under | Key Milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Colonial Secretary's Office | |
| 1948 | City Council Election | ||
| 1952 | |||
| Singapore Improvement Trust Building Mansoor Street (expunged) | |||
| 1953 | |||
| Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | |||
| 1955 | First Legislative Assembly General Election | ||
| Chief Secretary's Office | |||
| 1957 | |||
| Fort Canning Fort Canning Rise (building has been demolished) | |||
| 1959 | |||
| Ministry of Home Affairs | |||
| 1962 | |||
| Empress Place Building Empress Place Today'sAsian Civilisations Museum | Deputy Prime Minister's Office | ||
| 1965 | |||
| Elections Department Building Halifax Road | |||
| 1968 | First Parliamentary General Election | ||
| Prime Minister's Office | |||
| 1970 | |||
| City Hall St. Andrew Road Today'sNational Gallery Singapore | |||
| 1987 | |||
| Treasury Building Shenton Way Today's Temasek Tower | |||
| 1993 | First Presidential Election | ||
| 1994 | |||
| Elections Department Building Prinsep Link | |||
| 2021 | Novena Rise |
The department is responsible for the preparation and management of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections and any national referendum in Singapore.[2] Although thePresident of Singapore has the authority to creategroup representation constituencies (GRC) from several electoral wards, the Elections Department is generally the government authority which advises the President on which constituencies are created, and which constituencies are redistricted.
The ELD has under its purview the Registry of Political Donations (RPD) since 2003. It is responsible for the administration of the Political Donations Act and campaign spending rules. The main objective of RPD is to prevent foreign funding and potential interference in the domestic politics of Singapore.[4]
Between elections, ELD must ensure that the registers of electors are kept up-to-date. Other responsibilities include the training of election officials, logistical management of election events, informing the public about the electoral system and voting processes and ensuring that all electors have access to the electoral system and voting processes.
The ELD provides secretariat support to theElectoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC), formerly theElectoral Boundaries Delineation Committee (ERDC), and election committees such as the Presidential Elections Committee and the Community Committee.[2]
ELD is also responsible for:
Opposition parties such as theWorkers Party (WP) and theSingapore Democratic Party (SDP) in thepolitics of Singapore has questioned whether there are true, clearseparation of powers between the current ruling party of Singapore, thePeople's Action Party (PAP), and the Elections Department, which is supposed to be a neutral and impartial entity. The absence of an independent electoral commission[5] to manage elections is a subject that has been brought up by many opposition parties.[6][7]
The Elections Department is a branch under thePrime Minister's Office. The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is appointed by the Prime Minister;[8] the committee includes a mix of top civil servants and is chaired by the secretary to the Prime Minister.[9][10] The committee is responsible for the drawing of polling districts and polling sites with pinpoint precision before every election, without the need for Parliamentary approval.[11] Under section 8(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the incumbent Prime Minister may, "from time to time, by notification in the Gazette, specify the names and boundaries of the electoral divisions of Singapore for purposes of elections under this Act".[12]
The opposition argues that the lack of an independent commission results in a higher chance ofgerrymandering on behalf of the PAP, by bringing up examples ofEunos GRC after the1991 Singaporean general election andCheng San GRC after the1997 Singaporean general election being redrawn into other constituencies, or single-member-constituencies such asJoo Chiat SMC after the2011 Singaporean general election being absorbed into bigger GRCs after close electoral fights.[13][14][15]
The redrawing of constituencies shortly before each election are often satirised by Singaporeans on social media,[16] satirical and socio-political websites,[17] as well as in theatre[18][19] especially during election season.
