The Elections Department of Singapore (ELD), known exonymously as the Elections Department, is a department under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of the Government of Singapore which are responsible for overseeing the procedure for elections in Singapore, including parliamentary elections, presidential elections and referendums.
 | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 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 |
|
| Parent department | Prime Minister's Office |
| Child department |
|
| Website | www |
| Agency ID | T08GA0042B |
First established in 1947, it sees that elections are fairly carried out and has a supervisory role to safeguard against electoral fraud. It has the power to create constituencies and redistrict them, with the justification of preventing malapportionment.
History
editThe elections department was established under the Chief Secretary's Office in 1947 when Singapore was a British crown colony. After independence in 1965, the department was subsequently placed under the Ministry of Home Affairs, followed by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office, and is currently under the Prime 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's Asian 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's National Gallery Singapore | |||
| 1987 | |||
| Treasury Building
Shenton Way Today's Temasek Tower | |||
| 1993 | First Presidential Election | ||
| 1994 | |||
| Elections Department Building
Prinsep Link | |||
| 2021 | Novena Rise |
Responsibilities
editPresidential and parliamentary elections
editThe department is responsible for the preparation and management of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections and any national referendum in Singapore.[2] Although the President of Singapore has the authority to create group 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.
Political Donations Act
editThe 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]
Registry of Electors
editBetween 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.
Other responsibilities
editThe ELD provides secretariat support to the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee and election committees such as the Presidential Elections Committee and the Community Committee.[2]
ELD is also responsible for:
- Training election officials,
- Planning for election manpower, premises, logistical and other related requirements for the conduct of elections
- Informing the public about the electoral system and voting processes
- Ensuring all electors have access to the electoral system and voting processes
- Administering the Political Donations Act and campaign spending rules
Reception
editOpposition parties such as the Workers Party (WP) and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in the politics of Singapore has questioned whether there are true, clear separation of powers between the current ruling party of Singapore, the People'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 the Prime 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 of gerrymandering on behalf of the PAP, by bringing up examples of Eunos GRC after the 1991 Singaporean general election and Cheng San GRC after the 1997 Singaporean general election being redrawn into other constituencies, or single-member-constituencies such as Joo Chiat SMC after the 2011 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.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Elections Department to move operations to Novena Rise". CNA. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ a b c "About Elections Department". Government of Singapore. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017.
- ^ "ELD | Our Journey". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ "Overview of Political Donations Act". Singapore Elections Department. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017.
- ^ Yeo, Lay Hwee (2002). "Electoral Politics in Singapore" (PDF). Electoral Politics in Southeast and East Asia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "Redrawing of electoral boundaries 'senseless': Workers' Party". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ Diplomat, Sally Andrews, The. "'Soft' Repression: The Struggle for Democracy in Singapore". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Lee Hsien Loong". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- ^ "Electoral integrity a hot topic". Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ "Electoral Boundaries Review Committee convened, PM Lee tells Parliament". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- ^ Tan, Netina (1 December 2013). "Manipulating electoral laws in Singapore". Electoral Studies. Special Symposium: The new research agenda on electoral integrity. 32 (4): 632–643. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2013.07.014.
- ^ "Parliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 218)". Singapore Statutes Online. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ Chew, Hui Min (24 July 2015). "Electoral boundaries report 2015: PAP and opposition politicians react to changes". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ Tan, Netina; Grofman, Bernard (2016). "The Electoral Authoritarian's Subtle Toolkit: Evidence from Singapore" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 August 2017.
- ^ Ng, Boon Yian (18 October 2001). "Rise of Super GRCs?". Today. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ Wong, Tessa (8 September 2015). "Singapore's elections explained in memes". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "S'poreans accept GE2015 gerrymandering changes to electoral boundaries". New Nation. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ Tan, Dylan. "Political satire with more than just laughs". The Business Times. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ "Loving Singapore, faults and all". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.