REPORT OF THE ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES DELINEATION COMMITTEE

2.55 p.m.

Mr E.W. Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, a White Paper on the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Delineation Committee has been presented to Parliament as Command 8 of 1980. The Government has decided to accept all the recommendations of the Committee. The Committee recommended, inter alia, that the boundaries of 22 constituencies be re-defined so as to have a more equal representation of electors for all constituencies.

The redelineation will result in the elimination of three constituencies, namely: 1 Farrer Park 2 Geylang East 3 Upper Serangoon, but not necessarily the elimination of the Members of Parliament concerned! The electorates of these three constituencies will be absorbed by the adjacent electoral divisions. As the total electorate for the next General Elections is expected to increase by about 228,000 electors, the Committee recommended the creation of nine new constituencies, namely: 1 Ayer Rajah 2 Cheng San 3 Chong Boon 4 Clementi 5 Kaki Bukit 6 Kebun Baru 7 Tanah Merah 8 West Coast 9 Yio Chu Kang.

The acceptance of the Committee's recommendations will increase the number of electoral divisions from 69 to 75. This increase will come into effect as from the next general elections. It is, therefore, necessary to introduce the Parliamentary Membership Bill, 1980, to provide for the increase in the number of members to 75. 2.57 p.m.