Gerrymandering and its Effects in Singapore's 2025 General Elections

Bibliographic Data

ID2873733
AuthorsNetina Tan (0000-0003-0082-0335, McMaster University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume98
Issue3
Pages557-574
Publication date2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePacific Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379
PublisherPacific Affairs (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5509/2025983-art6
OpenAlexW4412768658
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited3

Singapore experienced extensive electoral redistricting six weeks before polling day on May 3, 2025. Were the electoral boundary changes "gerrymandering in plain sight" as claimed by an opposition leader? And if so, did the People's Action Party (PAP) benefit from the redistricting and malapportionment to maintain its legislative supermajority? This critical perspective finds that gerrymandering methods such as "packing," "cracking," and "stacking" were used in the redistricting of many new and altered constituencies. Based on the limited geospatial and electoral data available, the findings also show that the PAP gained in vote shares in all the altered and newly created group and single-member constituencies, as compared to the opposition parties, since the last general elections. While malapportionment and electoral disproportionality have both improved, creating more single-member seats and removing the larger five-member group constituencies would achieve fairer apportionment and more equal representation of voters. Electoral reform would remove any concerns that the PAP won based on an unfair advantage

Democracy · Demographic economics · Economics · General election · Gerrymandering · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Law · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

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