A TOTAL of 23,917 Singaporeans have checked their names in the registers of electors, which have been opened for inspection since March 3.

This is almost half the 41,412 inspections made in the first-week period in January 2006 when registers were also opened for checking.

The number of claims - made by those who consider themselves to be qualified voters but who could not find their names in the registers - also dipped from 124 in 2006 to 17 this year.

Giving these figures in a press statement on Tuesday, the Elections Department said that in the first week since the registers were opened, there were also 287 Singaporeans based abroad who registered as overseas voters.

There are an estimated 150,000 Singaporeans working and living abroad.

The department also said 158 Singaporeans who failed to vote in the May 2006 poll or any previous election, applied to have their names restored in the registers.

A further 18 also raised objections to the inclusion of names - theirs or that of others - in the registers.

The registers, which list names of eligible voters aged at least 21 years old as of Feb 1 this year, must be revised within three years of the last election. There are some 2.26 million names on the registers.

The registers will be used for the next general election, which must be held by early 2012.

Singaporeans have until next Monday to inspect the registers or to make claims and raise objections.

They can do so at the Elections Department at 11 Prinsep Link or at the 105 community centres and community clubs, or online via the Election Department's website (www.elections.gov.sg).