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Backgrounder on Singapore's GRC system

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his speech today (Jan 27) on the need to refresh Singapore’s political system, also touched on importance of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system. Here’s a backgrounder on the system, which came into effect in 1998 as a way to ensure minority representation in Parliament.

People voting during GE2015. TODAY file photo

People voting during GE2015. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his speech today (Jan 27) on the need to refresh Singapore’s political system, also touched on importance of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system. Here’s a backgrounder on the system, which came into effect in 1998 as a way to ensure minority representation in Parliament.

The Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system came into effect in 1988, following amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore and the Parliamentary Elections Act. 

Then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew first broached the plan in 1982 to ensure minority representation in Parliament. He cited a concern that the minority races would eventually be underrepresented in Parliament, given that young voters were less aware of the importance of returning a racially balanced selection of Members of Parliament (MPs). 

Under the GRC system, teams of candidates standing for election in a GRC must include at least one member from a minority racial community. The size and racial composition of each GRC is defined by the President and can change for each election.

For the 1988 GE - the first elections under the GRC system - the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee drew up 13 three-member GRCs, making up 39 of the 81 seats in Parliament.

Between the 1988 and 2006 GEs, the size and number of GRCs grew. By the 2006 GE, there were 14 GRCs, of which nine were five-member GRCs and five were six-member GRCs - making up 75 out of the 84 seats in Parliament. Concurrently, the number of minority MPs grew as well. Between 1988 and 2006, the number of minority MPs increased from 14 to 33, with their proportion in Parliament increasing from 16 to 27.4 per cent. 

In May 2009, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the Government’s intention to reduce the average size of GRCs and increase the number of single seat wards. For the 2011 GE, there were 15 GRCs up for contest ranging from three to six members in size. GRCs represented 75 of the 87 seats in parliament while the remaining 12 seats were for Single Member Constituencies. The Workers’ Party won the five-member Aljunied GRC - the first time that an Opposition party was elected into a GRC. 

The trend for smaller GRCs continued in the GE held in September last year: The number of four-member GRCs was increased from two in 2011 to six, with three GRCs downsized from five to four members. One more SMC was carved out, bringing the total number up to 13.

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