Elections Department Singapore
The Elections Department of Singapore (ELD) is a department of the government of Singapore under the Prime Minister's Office that oversees the procedure for elections in Singapore, including parliamentary elections and presidential elections. 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.
 | |
 The Elections Department on Prinsep Link | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1947 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Singapore |
| Headquarters | 11 Prinsep Link, Singapore 187949 1.300137°N 103.850294°E |
| Employees | 40 (2019) |
| Annual budget | SGD 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 |
History
The elections department was established under the Chief Secretary's Office in 1947 when Singapore was a British Crown Colony. 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.[1] In 2003, the Department was expanded to include the Registry of Political Donations.[2]
| 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 |
Responsibilities
Presidential and parliamentary elections
The department is responsible for the preparation and management of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections and any national referendum in Singapore.[1] 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
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.[3]
Registry of Electors
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.
Other responsibilities
The ELF provides secretariat support to the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee and election committees such as the Presidential Elections Committee and the Community Committee.[1]
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
Organisation
Senior Leadership
The senior members of the Elections Department are:
- Mr Koh Siong Ling, Head
- Mr Ong Chun Kiat, Deputy Head
- Mr Ang Boon Chin, Deputy Head (Operations)
Policy and Planning
- Ms Florence Tan, Director
- Ms Niki Leong, Senior Manager
- Mr Ian Tan, Senior Manager
Human Resource
- Ms Koh Seow Yab, Senior Manager
Administration and Finance
- Ms Vivien Goh, Senior Assistant Director
Political Donations and Communications
- Ms Tay Chai Luan, Senior Assistant Director
- Mr Ambrose Leow, Assistant Director
- Ms Ng Hui Peng, Senior Manager
- Ms Joyce Kow, Senior Manager
- Ms Dorothy Koh, Assistant Manager
- Mr Gerry Gewi, Assistant Manager
Manpower and Training
- Ms Joanne Lee, Assistant Director
- Mr Lawrence Ang, Assistant Director
- Ms Teo Shu Huei, Senior Manager
- Mr Heng Tze Wee, Senior Manager
Logistics and Technology
- Mr Simon Khoo, Director
- Mr Chan Wee Chin, Senior Assistant Director
- Mr Chen Yile, Senior Assistant Director
- Ms Gillian Chia, Assistant Director
- Ms Chu Lay Koon, Senior Manager
- Mr Chua Kim Choon, Manager
- Mr Kenny Cheong, Manager
Projects
- Mr Christopher Han, Senior Manager
Quality Service
- Ms Tay Chai Luan, Quality Service Manager
Registry of Political Donations
- Mr Koh Siong Ling, Registrar
- Mr Ong Chun Kiat, Deputy Registrar
- Ms Florence Tan, Assistant Registrar
- Mr Ambrose Leow, Assistant Registrar
- Ms Ng Hui Peng, Assistant Registrar
- Ms Vanessa Lee, Management Support Executive
Controversy
The opposition parties in the politics of Singapore question 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.
Singapore Elections Department is a branch under the Prime Minister's Office. The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is appointed by the Prime Minister;[4] the committee includes a mix of top civil servants and is chaired by the secretary to the Prime Minister.[5][6] 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.[7] 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".[8]
The absence of an independent electoral commission[9] to manage elections is a subject that has been brought up by many opposition parties.[10][11][12] This, the opposition argues, leads to intentional carrying out of gerrymandering on behalf of the PAP, like in the cases of Cheng San GRC and Eunos GRC being redrawn into other constituencies, or single-member-constituencies such as Joo Chiat SMC being absorbed into bigger GRCs after close electoral fights.[13][14][15] It is unlike an Electoral Commission in most other Commonwealth countries which is clearly independent of the ruling government. The redrawing of GRCs shortly before each election has been mocked on a widespread basis on social media,[16] satirical and socio-political websites,[17] as well as in theatre.[18][19]
References
- "About Elections Department". Government of Singapore. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09.
- "ELD | Our Journey". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- "Overview of Political Donations Act". Singapore Elections Department. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09.
- "Lee Hsien Loong". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
- "Electoral integrity a hot topic". Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
- "Electoral Boundaries Review Committee convened, PM Lee tells Parliament". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
- Tan, Netina (2013-12-01). "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 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
- Yeo, Lay Hwee (2002). "Electoral Politics in Singapore" (PDF). Electoral Politics in Southeast and East Asia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
- "Redrawing of electoral boundaries 'senseless': Workers' Party". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
- Burton, John (2006-05-03). "Inequality is centre stage in Singapore's election". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
- Diplomat, Sally Andrews, The. "'Soft' Repression: The Struggle for Democracy in Singapore". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
- Chew, Hui Min (2015-07-24). "Electoral boundaries report 2015: PAP and opposition politicians react to changes". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
- Tan, Netina; Grofman, Bernard (2016). "The Electoral Authoritarian's Subtle Toolkit: Evidence from Singapore" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-25.
- Ng, Boon Yian (18 October 2001). "Rise of Super GRCs?". Today. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
- Wong, Tessa (2015-09-08). "Singapore's elections explained in memes". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
- "S'poreans accept GE2015 gerrymandering changes to electoral boundaries". New Nation. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
- Tan, Dylan. "Political satire with more than just laughs". The Business Times. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
- "Loving Singapore, faults and all". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
