EBRC report: Opposition wards largely untouched; slight change to Aljunied GRC’s boundaries

SINGAPORE - Three polling districts in Tampines West, comprising 3,834 voters, will be moved from the opposition-held Aljunied GRC to the People’s Action Party-held Tampines GRC in the upcoming general election.

This is one of three minor changes that the

Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has recommended in its report

on March 11, so that some of the electoral boundaries at the 2025 polls are aligned with key geographical features, it said.

The other two changes are to the boundaries of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Chua Chu Kang GRC.

The EBRC’s proposals, which have been accepted by the Government, hew to a longstanding practice of leaving opposition wards largely intact, with Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC among nine constituencies that will not have their boundaries redrawn.

Aljunied, Sengkang and Hougang are all held by the Workers’ Party.

The other seven constituencies that will have no changes to their boundaries are Bishan-Toa Payoh, Jalan Besar, Marsiling-Yew Tee and Nee Soon GRCs, as well as Bukit Panjang, Marymount and Pioneer SMCs.

This means that less than a third of the 31 constituencies at the 2020 hustings will maintain the status quo at the coming election, which must be held by November.

The three polling districts being carved out of Aljunied GRC include two areas that are bounded by Tampines Avenue 1, Tampines Avenue 10, Bedok Reservoir Road and Bedok Reservoir itself.

These two districts cover the Waterview and Tropica condominiums, as well as Tampines GreenGem and the still-under-construction Tampines GreenJade public housing estates.

The third polling district, bounded by Tampines Road, Tampines Link and Tampines Avenue 10, covers two worker dormitories, several temples and a funeral parlour.

Polling districts are sub-divisions in a constituency with at least one polling station each.

Meanwhile, in the west, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC will take in one new polling district, which is under the soon-to-be-dissolved Jurong GRC.

This polling district, which has 2,776 registered voters, lies east of Upper Bukit Timah Road. It covers a number of condominiums, including Springdale, Sherwood Towers, Gardenvista and Jardin.

Farther north, two new public housing estates under construction – Rail Green I @ CCK and Rail Green II @ CCK – will come under Chua Chu Kang GRC, bringing with them 193 registered voters from The Tennery condominium in nearby Junction 10.

The EBRC said the two Rail Green housing developments straddled the previous electoral boundary between Chua Chu Kang GRC and Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. This had been drawn based on the former railway track, which no longer exists and has since been turned into part of the Rail Corridor.

Hence, the committee’s recommendation is to redraw this boundary so that it runs along Woodlands Road instead, effectively assigning the two new estates, as well as Junction 10, to Chua Chu Kang GRC instead of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

With the changes, Aljunied GRC will have 144,032 voters, Tampines GRC will have 147,904 voters, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC will have 122,891 voters, and Chua Chu Kang GRC will have 93,368 voters.

In terms of size, Aljunied and Tampines GRCs will remain five-member constituencies, while Holland-Bukit Timah and Chua Chu Kang GRCs will stay as four-member constituencies.