Political system

The politics of Singapore takes the form of a parliamentary representative democratic republic whereby
the President of Singapore is the head of state, the Prime Minister of Singapore is the head of
government, and of a multi-party system.
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the
Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore.
There are three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive and judiciary, though not
necessarily meaning that there is a separation of power.
Structure of government
Singapore inherited a Westminster system of government from the British. In such systems, there is an
overlap between the executive and legislative branches of government.
The head of state, who is the President of Singapore, is a member of both the executive Government of
Singapore and the Parliament of Singapore but plays a minimal role in them.
Executive power lies in the hands of the Cabinet, which is made up of the Prime Minister of
Singapore (the head of government) and other Ministers. At the same time, the Prime Minister
and Ministers are also Members of Parliament (MPs).
Following constitutional reforms in 1991, the office of President was transformed from an
appointed to an elected post. Thus, both the President and MPs are elected to their posts by the
citizens of Singapore in separate elections.

Executive branch
Executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the
Government and is collectively responsible to Parliament.

elections: president elected by popular vote for six-year term

Executive branch of government, is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore.
Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check
on the Cabinet and Parliament of Singapore, his role is largely ceremonial. It is the Cabinet,
composed of thePrime Minister and other Ministers appointed on his advice by the President, that
generally directs and controls the Government
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster
parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the
government while the position of president is largely ceremonial.
Before 1993, the President of Singapore was chosen by Parliament. Following amendments to the
constitution enacted in 1991, the Presidency became a popularly-elected office.
The first President elected by the majority of the people was Ong Teng Cheong, who served from 1
September 1993 to 31 August 1999. The current President of Singapore is Tony Tan Keng Yam.
The cabinet forms the executive of the government and it is answerable to parliament. It consist of
sitting members of parliament and is headed by a prime minister, the head of government. The
current prime minister is Lee Hsien Loong.
Neither the prime minister nor members of the cabinet are elected by parliament. Cabinet
members, also known as ministers, are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime
minister.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore (Malay: Perdana Menteri Republik Singapura) is the
head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime
Minister a Member of Parliament (MP) who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the
confidence of a majority of MPs.
Legislative branch
Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Singapore.
The legislature is the parliament, which consists of the president as its head and a single
chamber whose members are elected by popular vote.
The role of the president as the head of state has been, historically, largely ceremonial although
the constitution was amended in 1991 to give the president some veto powers in a few key
decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary, Civil
Service and Singapore Armed Forces posts. He also exercises powers over civil service
appointments andinternal security matters.
The unicameral Singaporean parliament is the legislature in Singapore with the president as its
head. Before independence in 1965, it was known as the Legislative Assembly. It currently
consists of 87 members of parliament. The maximum term of any one parliament is five years,
after which a general election must be held within three months of the dissolution of
parliament.
The 87 elected members of parliament (MPs) are elected on a plurality voting basis and
represent either single-member constituencies (SMCs) or group Representation Constituencies
(GRCs). In GRCs, political parties field a team of between three to six candidates. At least one
candidate in the team must belong to a minority race.
The constitution also provides for the appointment of other members of parliament not voted in
at an election. Up to six Non-Constituency Members of Parliament from the opposition political
parties can be appointed. Currently, there is one Non-Constituency Member of Parliament.
A constitutional provision for the appointment of up to nine Nominated Members of
Parliament (NMPs) was made in 1990.[13] NMPs are appointed by the president for a term of two
and a half years on the recommendation of a Select Committee chaired by the Speaker of
Parliament and are not connected to any political parties. In 2005, nine NMPs were sworn in,
out of which five were female.