Singapore
Parliament
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Notes
Parliamentary term: 5 years (two and a half years for appointed members)
Parliament name
Parliament
Chamber name
Parliament
Parliamentary term (years)
5
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 1967
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
Speaker of Parliament
Speaker
Chuan-Jin
Tan
(Male)
Year of birth
1969
Term
11.09.2017
Additional information
Elected on 11 Sep. 2017, re-elected on 24 Aug. 2020.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Clerk
Secretary General
Ng
Sheau Jiuan
(Female)
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Compare data of this field.
Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
93
Appointed members
Appointed, for example, by the Head of State.
9
Other members
For example, ex-officio members of parliament, such as Cabinet members, members of the royal family, Attorney General, Speaker if appointed from outside parliament.
2
Note on the statutory number of members
- Appointed members: up to nine members may be nominated by the President for a term of two and a half years.
- Other: up to 12 non-constituency members may be appointed from among unsuccessful opposition candidates who obtained the highest percentage of votes in a general election.
See historical data for this field.
- Other: up to 12 non-constituency members may be appointed from among unsuccessful opposition candidates who obtained the highest percentage of votes in a general election.
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature.
Average age of all members
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Tin Pei Ling (Female)
Oldest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
90
Oldest member
Lee Kuan Yew (Male)
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Notes
No reserved seats for minorities however Group Representation Constituencies exist whereby at least one of the MPs in a GRC must be a member of the Malay, Indian or another minority community of Singapore. GRCs are multi-member constituencies.
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Cf. Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 218, 2008 Rev. Ed.) and the Constitution.
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.