Singapore revises electoral boundaries as virus clouds election outlook

Singapore has revised its electoral boundaries, according to an official report on Friday, in a move usually seen as a precursor to a general election, although the timing of the vote has been clouded by a coronavirus outbreak.

Singapore must hold elections by early 2021, and before the virus hit the Asian city state late in January, the government had been expected to call one within a few months. The government accepted the recommendations of Friday's report by a panel to review electoral boundaries and will adopt them for the next general elections, according to a report presented in parliament.

These included establishing 31 electoral divisions, up from 29, and the addition of four seats in parliament, for a total of 93. Publication of the report is a closely watched event because polling day in the previous two elections came within three months of its issue.

The report comes on the day Singapore adopted new measures to contain the spread of the virus, such as cancelling or deferring events expected to have more than 250 participants. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is widely expected to step down after the elections, set up the panel late last year.

Lee, the son of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, has held power since 2004. His People's Action Party (PAP) has dominated politics over the five decades since the republic's independence, winning all elections with significant majorities.

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