What might the electoral boundaries of a city’s electorate be affected by more citizens?
With a voter turnout of 38,929, Hong Kah North SMC is now the only one to go beyond the 38, 000-vote control.
Independent observer Felix Tan, who has written about Singapore’s social environment, claimed it was possible to divide and unite a part of the SMC with a nearby GRC.
Then, he warned that it might be merged with a nearby GRC before the GRC might be restored to form two small GRCs.  ,
In 2020, what was then known as Sengkang West SMC had 47, 891 electors, far above the lower limit. In the end, it was transferred to a fresh Sengkang GRC.
Today, Ang Mo Kio GRC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC are also nearing the 190, 000 upper limit ( for their five-MP wards ), with 188, 820 and 180, 319 voters respectively.
Both were originally six-member GRCs before being reduced in size in 2020.
With fresh SMCs and smaller GRCs carved out, authorities said they could stretch even more.
This was already the case with Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC prior to the next election, when a fresh Punggol West SMC and four-member Sengkang GRC were established.  ,
The average amount of Members per GRC has dropped- from five in 2011 to 4.75 in 2015 to 4.65 in 2020- while the number of SMCs has gone off ( from 12 to 13 to 14 over the same time ).
Among the individual votes, Yuhua is the smallest with 20, 362 citizens – just above the lower restriction of 20, 000.
It is the only SMC run by Grace Fu, the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, as its head.
Jurong GRC, which has no “anchor” minister at the moment, is bounded by Yuhua, which was bounded by former top secretary Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s victory in a presidential election next year.
An anchor secretary is the de facto GRC group leader, according to Ms. Kasthuri from SUSS, whose presence serves to comfort citizens and orient new candidates.
There “might get a great opportunity” Yuhua gets subsumed into a new or existing GRC, said Dr Tan.
However, not all political boundaries are redrawn at every large.
In 2020, 12 districts were undisturbed, Institute of Policy Studies research brother Teo Kay Key noted. Seven of them were left alive in 2015 as also.
Hougang SMC and the opposition-held Aljunied GRC are among them.
According to Dr. Tan,” It is probably an unwritten rule that unless the opposition wards fall, there are certainly no other strong reasons to ( redraw boundaries there” ), adding that any change in the boundaries at these wards may be viewed as “politically motivated.”
Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing said in parliament earlier this month that the EBRC features freely, without direction or power from the state.
Mr Chan, who is also Education Minister, added that the Committee prioritises the interests of voters and not any political party, including the ruling People’s Action Party ( PAP ).
The senior civil servants that make up the EBRC also do n’t have any political allegiances and can fervently suggest boundary changes, he said.