Opposition MPs raise concerns about gerrymandering in parliament debate

On Wednesday, parliament rejected a motion by the Progress Singapore Party Secretary-General and NCMP Hazel Poa calling for a reform of the electoral boundary review process towards greater transparency and objectivity

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh supported the motion, adding that the PAP has benefitted from the way electoral boundaries have been drawn

Countering this claim, Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing asserted that the Electoral Boundary Review Committee (EBRC) is made up of senior civil servants with no party allegiance, and there is no gerrymandering in the processes

Gerrymandering is the practice of altering the boundaries of electoral districts with the purpose of giving a political party an advantage over others

The issue has plagued many countries - Australia, Canada, and the UK have sought to tackle it by having independent redistribution commissions chaired by a non-partisan figure such as a High Court judge

According to the Elections Department Singapore website, the EBRC is chaired by the Secretary to the Prime Minister

The members are also appointed by the Prime Minister

In the end, 76 MPs voted against the motion, while all 10 opposition MPs voted in favour

Online, some netizens expressed doubts over the EBRC’s impartiality, claiming that civil servants were biased towards the ruling party as they are government workers

Others shared experiences of their GRC boundaries shifting just before an election and pointed out GRCs that do not reflect town boundaries