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Parliamentary elections in Singapore must be held within three months after five years have elapsed from the date of the first sitting of a particular Parliament of Singapore. However, in most cases Parliament is dissolved and a general election called at the behest of the Prime Minister before the five-year period elapses. The number of constituencies or electoral divisions is not permanently fixed by law, but is declared by the Prime Minister prior to each general election pursuant to the , which governs the conduct of elections to Parliament, taking into account recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee. For the 2015 general election, there were 89 seats in Parliament organised into 13 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 16 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). Each SMC returns one Member of Parliament while each GRC returns between three and six MPs, at least one of whom must be from the Malay, Indian or other minority communities. A group of persons wishing to stand for election in a GRC must all be members of the same political party, or a group of independent candidates. The voting age in Singapore is 21 years. The election process begins when the President, acting on Cabinet's advice, issues a writ of election addressed to the returning officer. On nomination day, the returning officer and his or her representatives will be present at designated nomination centres between 11:00 am and 12:00 noon to receive prospective candidates' nomination papers, and political donation certificates certifying that they have complied with the requirements of the . A person intending to contest in a GRC as a minority candidate must also submit a certificate confirming that he or she is a person belonging to the Malay, Indian or some other minority community. In addition, between the date of the writ of election and 12:00 noon on nomination day, candidates must lodge with the returning officer a deposit equal to 8% of the total allowances payable to an MP in the preceding calendar year, rounded to the nearest $500. For the 2015 general election, the amount of the deposit was $14,500. At the close of the nomination period, where there is only one candidate in an SMC or one group of candidates in a GRC standing nominated, the election is uncontested and the returning officer will declare that the candidate has or the group of candidates have been elected. Where there is more than one candidate in an SMC or more than one group of candidates in a GRC, the election is adjourned for a poll to be taken. The returning officer issues a notice of contested election which states when polling day will be; and information such as the names of the candidates, their proposers and seconders, the symbols allocated to candidates which will be printed on ballot papers, and the locations of polling stations. Candidates can only mount election campaigns from after the close of nomination up to the day before the eve of polling day. No campaigning is permitted on the eve of polling day itself, which is known as "cooling-off day". Candidates can advertise on the Internet, conduct house-to-house visits, distribute pamphlets, put up banners and posters, and hold election rallies. Political parties fielding at least six candidates are allocated airtime for two pre-recorded party political broadcasts on radio and television, one on the day following nomination day and the other on cooling-off day. The amount of airtime granted depends on the number of candidates each party is fielding. The maximum amount which a candidate or his or her election agent can pay or incur for an election campaign is $3.50 for each elector in an SMC, or $3.50 for each elector divided by the number of candidates in the group standing for election in a GRC. Polling day at a general election is a public holiday, and voting is compulsory. Unless the returning officer decides otherwise, polling stations are open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Voters must go to the polling stations assigned to them. After the poll closes, the presiding officer of each polling station seals the ballot boxes without opening them. Candidates or their polling agents may also affix their own seals to the ballot boxes. The ballot boxes are then taken to counting centres to be opened and the ballots counted. A candidate or his counting agent may ask the returning officer for a recount of votes if the difference between the number of votes for the candidate or group of candidates with the most votes and the number of votes of any other candidate or group of candidate is 2% or less, excluding rejected and tendered votes. After all counts, and recounts if any, have been completed, the returning officer ascertains whether the total number of electors registered to vote overseas is less than the difference between the number of votes for the two candidates with the highest number of votes. If so, the returning officer declares the candidate with the highest number of votes to be elected as President. If not, the returning officer states the number of votes cast for each candidate and the date and location where the overseas votes will be counted. The most recent general election was held in 2015. The People's Action Party was returned to power to form the Government with 83 seats, while the Workers' Party of Singapore secured six seats by winning in Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC. ==Composition and term of Parliament== The Parliament of Singapore is unicameral and consists of three types of Members of Parliament: elected Members of Parliament (MPs), Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs), and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs).〔, Article 39(1).〕 Of these, MPs are chosen by universal suffrage or popular election under a "first-past-the-post" system, while NCMPs are chosen from among the candidates of political parties not forming the Government. The maximum duration of each Parliament is five years from the date of its first sitting. If Parliament has not been dissolved before that period has elapsed, it is automatically dissolved by operation of law.〔Constitution, Art. 65(4).〕 However, in most cases Parliament is dissolved and a general election called at the behest of the Prime Minister, who is entitled to advise the President to do so by a proclamation published in the ''Government Gazette''. The President is not obliged to proclaim that Parliament is dissolved unless he is satisfied that the Prime Minister commands the confidence of a majority of MPs.〔Constitution, Art. 65(3). The President is required to dissolve Parliament if the office of Prime Minister is vacant and he is satisfied in his personal discretion that a reasonable period has elapsed since the office was vacated and there is no MP likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs: Art. 65(2).〕 Once Parliament has been dissolved, a general election must be held within three months.〔Constitution, Art. 66.〕 The number of elected MPs and constituencies or electoral divisions〔According to the Constitution, Art. 39(3), a constituency is construed as an electoral division for the purposes of Parliamentary elections.〕 is not permanently fixed by law, but is declared by the Prime Minister prior to each general election pursuant to the Parliamentary Elections Act,〔 ("PEA").〕 which governs the conduct of elections to Parliament, taking into account recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee.〔For more information on the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, see "Group Representation Constituency#Number and boundaries of electoral divisions".〕 For the purposes of the 2011 general election, there were 87 seats in Parliament organised into 12 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 15 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs).〔Parliamentary Elections (Names and Polling Districts of Electoral Divisions) Notification 2011 ((S 85/2011 )) dated 24 February 2011, archived from (the original ) on 10 May 2011 and made pursuant to the PEA, ss. 8 and 20A.〕 Each SMC returns one MP while each GRC returns between three and six MPs, at least one of whom must be from the Malay, Indian or other minority communities.〔Constitution, Art. 39A; PEA, ss. 8A and 22. A person is regarded as belonging to the Malay, Indian or other minority communities if he or she considers himself or herself to be a member of the community and is generally accepted as such by that community: Constitution, Art. 39A(4). Two committees exist to determine whether a person qualifies as a member of a minority community – a Malay Community Committee and an Indian and Other Minority Communities Committee: PEA, s. 27C; Appointment of Members of Malay Community Committee ((Gazette Notification (G.N.) No. 1059/2011 )), archived from (the original ); and Appointment of Members of Indian and Other Minority Communities Committee ((G.N. No. 1060/2011 )), archived from (the original ), both dated 18 April 2011 and archived on 10 May 2011. The procedures of these committees are regulated by the Parliamentary Elections (Malay Community Committee) Regulations ((Cap. 218, Rg. 1, 2011 Rev. Ed. )), archived from (the original ) on 10 May 2011; and the Parliamentary Elections (Indian and Other Minority Communities Committee) Regulations ((Cap. 218, Rg. 2, 2011 Rev. Ed. )), archived from (the original ) on 10 May 2011.〕 Two GRCs were designated as four-member wards, 11 as five-member wards, and two as six-member wards.〔Parliamentary Elections (Declaration of Group Representation Constituencies) Order 2011 ((S 86/2011 )) dated 24 February 2011, archived from (the original ) on 10 May 2011.〕 Nine GRCs were designated as wards for which at least one member of the Malay community had to be fielded as a candidate, and six as wards for which at least one member of the Indian or some other minority community had to be fielded.〔Parliamentary Elections (Designation of Group Representation Constituencies) Order 2011 ((S 87/2011 )) dated 24 February 2011, archived from (the original ) on 10 May 2011.〕 A group of persons wishing to stand for election in a GRC must all be members of the same political party, or a group of independent candidates.〔PEA, s. 27A(3).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Parliamentary elections in Singapore」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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