Singaporean general election, 2015

Singapore's next parliamentary general election must be held on the 2nd quarter of 2016. The Parliament of Singapore's maximum term is five years, within which it must be dissolved by the President of Singapore and elections held within three months, as stated in the Constitution of Singapore. Voting is mandatory in Singapore and is based on the first-past-the-post system. Elections are conducted by the Elections Department, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Background
The 2016 General Election is the 17th General Election in Singapore and the 12th since independence. The governing People's Action Party (PAP) seek to secure their 14th consecutive term in office since 1959. This is the third election if Lee Hsien Loong still its Secretary-General, by 8 January 2017.

Political parties
The governing People's Action Party (PAP) has been in power since Singapore's independence in 1965, and is currently led by the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Workers' Party of Singapore (WP) led by Low Thia Khiang, is expected to defend its existing seats of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East; however these will defend more in the upcoming 2016 elections selectively. Besides PAP and WP, the other major political parties that may contest the upcoming elections are the Singapore People's Party led by Chiam See Tong which left the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) in 2011, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) led by Chee Soon Juan, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) led by Hazel Poa which left the SDA in 2007, the Reform Party (Singapore) led by Kenneth Jeyaretnam, and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) led by Desmond Lim, which is composed of the Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (Singapore Malay National Organization) (PKMS) and the Singapore Justice Party (SJP). Socialist Front is the newest party formed, prior the 2011 General Election, led by Chia Ti Lik.

Electoral divisions
The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee normally publishes an updated list of electoral divisions just before elections are called. Prior to the latest amendments, there were fifteen GRCs, each with four, five or six seats, and twelve Single Member Constituencies (SMC). There were a total of 82 seats contested in the 2011 general elections out of a total of 87 seats.