Returning Officer

In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.

The Returning Officer in Singapore is in charge of overseeing the conduct of parliamentary (by-elections and general elections) and presidential elections. The RO declares results for the parliamentary general elections and the presidential elections in the following manner:

For SMCs:
 * Parliamentary general election year. Results for the electoral division of name of seat. Name of first candidate, party of first candidate, number of votes. Name of following candidate,party of following candidate, number of votes. Rejected votes, number of rejected votes. Total votes cast, number of total votes. The local votes counted for the electoral division of seat name are conclusive of the results. Pursuant to Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act, I declare name of winning candidate of the party name as the candidate elected for the electoral division of seat name.

For GRCs:


 * Parliamentary general election year. Results for the electoral division of name of seat. Name of candidates in party of first group, party of first group, number of votes. Name of following candidates in party of following group, party of following group, number of votes. Rejected votes, number of rejected votes. Total votes cast, number of total votes. The local votes counted for the electoral division of seat name are conclusive of the results. Pursuant to Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act, I declare name of winning group of candidates of the party of group of candidates as the group of candidates elected for the electoral division of seat name.

For presidential elections:


 * Result for the presidential election year. Name of first candidate,number of votes. Name of following candidate, number of votes. Rejected votes, number of rejected votes. Total votes cast, number of total votes. The local votes counted are conclusive of the results. Pursuant to Section 32, Subsection 8D, Paragraph A of the Presidential Elections Act, I declare name of winning candidate as the candidate elected as the President of Singapore.

For SMCs with a walkover:


 * Parliamentary general election year. Announcement of result on nomination day, the electoral division of name of seat. Name of candidate, party of candidate, is the only candidate nominated for the electoral division of name of seat. Under Section 33 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, I declare name candidates of the party candidate as the candidates elected for the electoral division of seat name.

For GRCs with a walkover:


 * Parliamentary general election year. Announcement of result on nomination day, the electoral division of name of seat. Name of candidates in party of first group, party of first group, is the only group of candidates nominated for the electoral division of name of seat. Under Section 33 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, I declare name of winning group of candidates of the party of group of candidates as the group of candidates elected for the electoral division of seat name.

Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act [or Section 32, Subsection 8D, Paragraph A of the Presidential Elections Act], are stated, only if the total number of overseas electors lawfully entitled to vote at the election in that electoral division is less than the difference between the number of votes given to the two best-performing candidates or group of candidates. In the event where the total of overseas voters is more than the difference between the number of votes given to the two best-performing candidates, the RO may declare the number of votes cast in Singapore for the candidates, and announce the date and premises for the counting of overseas votes, in accordance with Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph B of the Parliamentary Elections Act [or Section 32, Subsection 8D, Paragraph B of the Presidential Elections Act]. The RO's duties also encompasses announcing the best-performing losing candidates as NCMP post-elections in the government gazette.

List of Returning Officers

 * Ong Kok Min - GE1980, BE1981, GE1984, GE1988
 * Lim Siam Kim - GE1991, BE1992, PE1993
 * Tan Boon Huat - GE1997, PE1999, GE2001, PE2005, GE2006
 * Yam Ah Mee - Appointed 1st June 2010, retired 31st March 2013. Served: GE2011, PE2011, BE2012, BE2013
 * Ng Wai Choong - Appointed 1st April 2013