SINGAPORE: Political parties keen to contest in the west of Singapore will likely have to relook their strategies, with the redrawing of electoral boundaries in the region, said political analysts on Tuesday ( Mar 11 ).  ,
” The west of Singapore has been redrawn to quite a big extent” compared to the 2020 General Election, said Dr Teo Kay Key, a research fellow with the National University of Singapore’s ( NUS) Institute of Policy Studies ( IPS).
This area is likely to see a lot of exercise, given that political parties engaged in the area may need to adjust or relook their techniques on where to battle, she added.  ,
Independent political observer Dr Felix Tan stopped short of commenting on whether the boundaries in the west would favour the People’s Action Party ( PAP ) or the opposition parties that intend to contest there.  ,
But cutting Jurong GRC into Jurong West and Jurong East and combining them with West Coast and Bukit Batok both indicates that the social events involved will have to reevaluate their strategies, he added.  ,
In 2020, the PAP group led by therefore Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam defeated Red Dot United in Jurong GRC with 74.62 per share of the ballot, making it the candidate’s best performing district for the next subsequent election.  ,
” I think it’s about relooking at how best they can get the help, or attract support from those people within these revised boundaries”, said Dr Tan.  ,
The adjustments to the political boundaries brought” no great upsets”, he added, noting that most of the restrictions were revised because of the changing number of voters within the divisions.
NUS associate professor of social science Bilveer Singh noted that the limit shifts affected a major bulk of wards , and , broke” the previous taboo of dabbling into opposition units”.
Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser, an adjunct principal research fellow with IPS, called the move “historic” as the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee ( EBRC ) has typically not made changes to opposition-held wards.
The boundaries of Aljunied GRC, held by the Workers ‘ Party ( WP), were redrawn for the first time since the 2011 hustings, when the opposition party first captured the ward.  ,
Poll districts in Tampines West and the east of Bedok Reservoir may get moved to Tampines GRC, with the changes affecting about 3, 900 votes.
According to the state newspaper, 150, 821 , votes were cast in Aljunied GRC in the 2020 vote.  ,
Assoc Prof Singh said that with piece of Aljunied GRC joining Tampines GRC, the PAP’s keep on Tampines may become weakened if the WP areas a staff it.
MORE POLITICAL Confrontation
According to the report released by the EBRC on Tuesday ( Mar 11 ), five new Group Representation Constituencies ( GRCs ) and six new Single Member Constituencies ( SMCs ) have been created.
The six innovative SMCs are Bukit Gombak, Jalan Kayu, Jurong Central, Queenstown, Sembawang West and Tampines Changkat. There are 15 in full.  ,
Gone from the diagram are the SMCs of Yuhua, Bukit Batok, Hong Kah North, MacPherson and Punggol West, which have been absorbed into GRCs.
Nevertheless, one more SMC and one more GRC have been added to the mix. There will be eight four-seater GRCs in the 2025 General Election, away from six in 2020, and 10 five-seater GRCs, down from 11 in the last vote.
Assoc Prof Singh noted that new SMCs have been carved out of” safe ( PAP ) GRCs” – for example, Sembawang West SMC from Sembawang GRC, currently helmed by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. This would probably gain the former PAP, unless it is faced with strong opponents from a main opposition group, he said.
Singapore Management University’s ( SMU) associate professor of law Eugene Tan said SMCs are “always popular” with opposition parties because they are seen to provide for fairer contests.  ,
Nevertheless, he highlighted that many opposition events contesting the same chair is seen as not ideal. ” Right conflicts are the chosen mode”, he said.  ,
Having fewer Members in GRCs while adding one or two more SMCs each General Election are the “right goes” to develop stronger relationships between citizens and their divisions, he added.  ,
NUS ‘ associate professor of social science Chong Ja Ian said the introduction of fresh SMCs and some smaller GRCs allows for more competition.  ,
Smaller opposition parties, beyond the Progress Singapore Party ( PSP) and WP, which have seats in parliament, could contest in these areas, potentially leading to more three-cornered fights, he added.  ,
They can be “more aggressive” because contesting in smaller divisions requires less tools, said Assoc Prof Chong.  ,
While events that now have no seats may think that single-seat fights increase their chances of getting into congress, this could eventually lead to more multi-cornered contests, said IPS ‘ Assoc Prof Tan.  ,
Introducing more SMCs and smaller GRCs is consistent with the trend towards smaller constituencies, said Assoc Prof Chong. This potentially limits risks for the PAP, he added.
” Previously when they would lose a GRC, they have several ministers go. Now with things broken up a little bit more, any potential loss can be minimised more”, he said.  ,
The trend towards smaller constituencies started during the 2020 General Election, after then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in 2016 that Singapore would have to” strike the right balance”  , between big GRCs, small GRCs and SMCs.  ,
Creating smaller GRCs and more SMCs in the 2015 and 2011 elections gave rise to good results, he said at the time, adding that he would instruct the EBRC to further reduce the average size of GRCs and create more SMCs when it was next appointed.  ,