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Singapore is a parliamentary representative democratic republic in which the president of Singapore is the head of state, the prime minister of Singapore is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet from the parliament, and to a lesser extent, the president. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the government and is accountable to Parliament. There are three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive and judiciary resembling by the Westminster system. Singapore has been described as being a de facto one-party state.
The Workers' Party is a major social democratic political party in Singapore and one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and the other opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP). The WP sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is currently the largest and oldest opposition party in Parliament, having contested every parliamentary election since 1959 against the dominant PAP. Since the 1991 general election, the WP has been the only political party, other than the PAP, with elected Members of Parliament (MPs).
The National Solidarity Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.
There are currently two types of elections in Singapore. Parliamentary and presidential elections. According to the Constitution of Singapore, general elections for Parliament must be conducted within three months of the dissolution of Parliament, which has a maximum term of five years from the first sitting of Parliament, and presidential elections are conducted every six years.
Low Thia Khiang is a Singaporean former politician, Secretary-General of the WP between 2001 and 2018 and de facto Leader of the Opposition between 2006 and 2011. A member of the Workers' Party (WP), he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang SMC between 1991 and 2011, and also Aljunied GRC representing Bedok Reservoir — Punggol division between 2011 and 2020.
Constituencies in Singapore are electoral divisions which may be represented by single or multiple seats in the Parliament of Singapore. Constituencies are classified as either Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) or Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). SMCs are single-seat constituencies but GRCs have between four and five seats in Parliament.
A Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) is a member of an opposition political party in Singapore who, according to the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act, is declared to have been elected a Member of Parliament (MP) without constituency representation, despite having lost in a general election, by virtue of having been one of the best-performing losers. When less than 12 opposition MPs have been elected, the number of NCMPs is the difference to total 12. NCMPs enjoy all of the privileges of ordinary members of Parliament, apart from the salary, which is substantially lower.
Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency composed of several city suburbs along with the Central Area of Singapore. The Jalan Besar GRC is the electoral division representing the largest area of the downtown city centre of Singapore, followed by Tanjong Pagar GRC. There are four wards in the GRC: Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer, Whampoa and lastly Kampong Glam managed by Jalan Besar Town Council. The current Members of Parliament are Denise Phua, Wan Rizal, Josephine Teo and Heng Chee How from the People's Action Party (PAP).
The Hougang Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. It is managed by Aljunied-Hougang Town Council. The current Member of Parliament is Dennis Tan of the Workers' Party (WP).
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By-elections in Singapore are elections held to fill seats in the Parliament of Singapore that fall vacant in between general elections, known as casual vacancies. In the past, the Government of Singapore took the position that the Prime Minister had discretion whether or not a by-election should be called to fill a casual vacancy in a Single Member Constituency, and could leave a parliamentary seat unfilled until the next general election. However, in the case of Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v. Attorney-General (2013), which arose from a vacancy in Hougang Single Member Constituency, the Court of Appeal held that the Constitution of Singapore obliges the Prime Minister to call a by-election unless a general election is going to be held in the near future. However, a by-election need only be called within a reasonable time, and the Prime Minister has the discretion to determine when it should be held.
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Cairnhill Single Member Constituency (SMC) was a former single member constituency in Singapore. It used to exist from 1955 to 1988 as Cairnhill Constituency and was renamed as Cairnhill Single Member Constituency (SMC) as part of Singapore's political reforms. The SMC was merged into Kampong Glam Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in 1991.
General elections were held in Singapore on Friday, 10 July 2020 to elect 93 members to the Parliament of Singapore across 31 constituencies. Parliament was dissolved and the general election called by President Halimah Yacob on 23 June, on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It elected members of parliament to the 14th Parliament of Singapore since Singapore's independence in 1965, using the first-past-the-post electoral system.
The Sengkang Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern region of Singapore. It consists of Punggol East SMC, Sengkang West SMC and what was previously the Sengkang Central ward of the Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. Sengkang GRC consists of four divisions: Anchorvale, Rivervale, Buangkok, and Compassvale managed by Sengkang Town Council. The current Members of Parliament are He Ting Ru, Jamus Lim and Louis Chua from the Workers' Party (WP) after the resignation of Raeesah Khan.
General elections are due to be held in Singapore no later than 23 November 2025 to elect the members of the 15th Singaporean Parliament. The elections will be the 19th in Singapore since the 1948 election and the 14th since its independence.
References
- ↑ "Singapore Elections Department - 1988 Parliamentary Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ↑ Mutalib, Hussin (2002). "Constitutional-Electoral Reforms and Politics in Singapore". Legislative Studies Quarterly. 27 (4): 659–672. doi:10.2307/3598663. ISSN 0362-9805. JSTOR 3598663.
