The boundaries of altered polling districts was published on Friday. (Photo: AFP)
Three days after the announcement that voter rolls are being updated, changes to the polling districts were released on Friday.
The changes, to ensure no polling station handles too many or too few voters, were detailed in a 109-page document, published in the electronic version of the government gazette.
This is the third time the polling districts, which form sub-units within constituencies, have been updated since the 2006 General Election. Polling district changes were last announced in Feburary 2010.
Political observer Eugene Tan said he is “surprised” by the release of the boundaries of altered polling districts since the electoral rolls are still being updated.
The registers of electors were reported to be undergoing revision on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong directing that the revision be made and completed by Feb 28.
“The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report is more significant or acts as a precursor of when the elections will be because that is when the boundaries of the GRCs and SMCs are let known,” added Mr Tan.
But the boundaries report will have to wait until the electoral roll is updated, he noted.
In the last three elections, the time-lag between polling district changes and the release of the boundaries report ranged from 19 days in 2001 to six months in 2006. The general election followed soon after the report was released.
In 1997, the election was held just over a month later, in 2001, 17 days later and in 2006, just over two months later.