Elections Department Singapore
The Elections Department Singapore, known endonymously as the Elections Department, is a department under the Prime Minister's Office of the Government of Singapore which are responsible for overseeing the procedure for elections in Singapore, including parliamentary elections, presidential elections and referendums.
First established in 1947, it seems 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
The 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 (Singapore)|Ministry of Home Affairs], followed by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office, and is currently under the Prime Minister's Office. In 2003, the Department was expanded to include the Registry of Political Donations. In 2021, the department merged its corporate office and training centre into one central location at 11 Novena Rise.| Year | Office Location | Operated Under | Key Milestone |
| 1947 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Colonial Secretary's Office | |
| 1948 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Colonial Secretary's Office | City Council Election |
| 1952 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Colonial Secretary's Office | |
| 1952 | Singapore Improvement Trust Building Mansoor Street ' | Colonial Secretary's Office | |
| 1953 | Singapore Improvement Trust Building Mansoor Street ' | Colonial Secretary's Office | |
| 1953 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Colonial Secretary's Office | |
| 1955 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Colonial Secretary's Office | First Legislative Assembly General Election |
| 1955 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Chief Secretary's Office | First Legislative Assembly General Election |
| 1957 | Fullerton Building Fullerton Square Today's Fullerton Hotel | Chief Secretary's Office | |
| 1957 | Fort Canning Fort Canning Rise | Chief Secretary's Office | |
| 1959 | Fort Canning Fort Canning Rise | Chief Secretary's Office | |
| 1959 | Fort Canning Fort Canning Rise | Ministry of Home Affairs | |
| 1962 | Fort Canning Fort Canning Rise | Ministry of Home Affairs | |
| 1962 | Empress Place Building Empress Place Today's Asian Civilisations Museum | Deputy Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1965 | Empress Place Building Empress Place Today's Asian Civilisations Museum | Deputy Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1965 | Elections Department Building Halifax Road | Deputy Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1968 | Elections Department Building Halifax Road | Deputy Prime Minister's Office | First Parliamentary General Election |
| 1968 | Elections Department Building Halifax Road | Prime Minister's Office | First Parliamentary General Election |
| 1970 | Elections Department Building Halifax Road | Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1970 | City Hall St. Andrew Road Today's National Gallery Singapore | Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1987 | City Hall St. Andrew Road Today's National Gallery Singapore | Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1987 | Treasury Building Shenton Way Today's Temasek Tower | Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1993 | Treasury Building Shenton Way Today's Temasek Tower | Prime Minister's Office | First Presidential Election |
| 1994 | Treasury Building Shenton Way Today's Temasek Tower | Prime Minister's Office | |
| 1994 | Elections Department Building Prinsep Link | Prime Minister's Office | |
| 2021 | Novena Rise | Prime Minister's Office |
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. Although the President of Singapore has the authority to create group representation constituencies 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 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.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 ELD provides secretariat support to the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, formerly the Electoral Boundaries Delineation Committee, and election committees such as the Presidential Elections Committee and the Community Committee.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
Criticism
Opposition parties such as the Workers Party and the Singapore Democratic Party 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, and the Elections Department, which is supposed to be a neutral and impartial entity. The absence of an independent electoral commission to manage elections is a subject that has been brought up by many opposition parties.The Elections Department is a branch under the Prime Minister's Office. The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is appointed by the Prime Minister; the committee includes a mix of top civil servants and is chaired by the secretary to the Prime Minister. 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. Under section 8 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".
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.
The redrawing of constituencies shortly before each election are often satirised by Singaporeans on social media, satirical and socio-political websites, as well as in theatre especially during election season.
During the 2025 Singaporean general election, Workers' Party WP decided not to contest Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC, which resulted in a walkover for the PAP. Justifying the decision, Singh said that the WP had to make the "difficult decision" due to its lack of resources and the extensive boundary changes of the constituency.