Parliamentary Elections in Singapore - Electors

Electors

To be eligible to vote in a parliamentary election in a particular year, a person's name must appear in a certified register of electors of that year. A register of electors is prepared for each electoral division in Singapore. A person is entitled to have his or her name entered or retained in an electoral register of a certain year if on 1 January of that year he or she is a Singapore citizen who is ordinarily resident in Singapore, is not less than 21 years old, and is not subject to any disqualifications. A person not resident in Singapore but entitled to have his or her name entered or retained in a register of electors for a particular electoral division may apply to be registered as an overseas elector any time before a writ of election is issued for any election in that division.

A person is disqualified from having his or her name entered or retained in a register of electors if he or she:

• has done any of the following:
  • acquired or applied to acquire the citizenship of a country outside Singapore by registration, naturalisation or other voluntary and formal act other than marriage;
  • voluntarily claimed and exercised rights available under the law of a country outside Singapore which are enjoyed exclusively by citizens or nationals of that country, except the use of a foreign passport;
  • taken any oath or made any declaration or acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to any foreign power or state; or
  • applied to the authorities of a place outside Singapore for the issue or renewal of a passport or used a passport issued by such authorities as a travel document;
• is serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed by any court in or outside Singapore for an offence punishable with imprisonment of more than 12 months; or has been sentenced to death by such a court or is serving a term of imprisonment in lieu of a death sentence;
• is found or declared to be of unsound mind under any written law;
• has been convicted of a corrupt or illegal practice under the PEA or the Presidential Elections Act, or an election judge reports that he or she has committed a corrupt or illegal practice;
• is a serving member on full pay of any naval, military or air force not maintained out of moneys provided by Parliament, unless he or she is domiciled (permanently resident) in Singapore; or
• is a person whose name has been expunged from the register or the register of electors under the Presidential Elections Act, and who has not yet had his or her name restored to the register.

A person is deemed to be ordinarily resident in Singapore on 1 January of a year if he or she has resided in Singapore for an aggregate of 30 days during the three years immediately preceding 1 January, even if he or she is not actually resident in Singapore on that date. However, such a person is not entitled to have his or her name entered or retained in any register of electors if:

• he or she is serving a sentence of imprisonment in any prison, jail or other place of detention outside Singapore; or
• there is in force against him or her a warrant of arrest issued by a Singapore court because he or she has been accused or convicted by a Singapore court of an offence against any written law punishable with more than 12 months' imprisonment.

The Prime Minister may from time to time, but not later than three years after the last general election, direct that the electoral registers be revised; and may, before a general election, require the registers to be brought up to date by reference to a particular year. After registers have been prepared or updated, they are made available for public inspection to enable people to submit claims to be included in registers or to raise objections concerning the inclusion of other people in the registers. After all claims and objections have been dealt with, the registers are certified as correct.