General elections in Singapore in the context of Elections in Singapore

The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the President but exercised on the advice of the Cabinet led by the Prime Minister. The President, acting as the Head of State, may only act in their discretion in appointing the Prime Minister, acting as the Head of Government; as well as withholding consent for the dissolution of Parliament; along with performing key checks on the Government in addition to the ceremonial duties of the Head of State inherited from the Westminster system. The Cabinet, consisting of the Prime Minister and ministers appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's advice, is responsible for heading the Executive through ministries and other statutory boards. At the end of the term or at any time during the term, once the President has consented to a request made by the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament, Parliamentary General Elections are held to elect members of Parliament for a new term. The President, in their discretion, then appoints a Prime Minister who is a member of Parliament representing any political party or coalition of political parties who in their judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of Parliament. The Prime Minister then forms the Government and, along with the Cabinet, sets the general direction and control of the Government for the next term.

A statutory board is an autonomous agency of the Government that is established by an Act of Parliament and overseen by a government ministry. Unlike ministries and government departments that are subdivisions of ministries, statutory boards are not staffed by civil servants and have greater independence and flexibility in their operations. There are five Community Development Councils (CDCs) appointed by the board of management of the People's Association (PA) for districts in Singapore. Where there are not less than 150,000 residents in a district, the PA's board of management may designate the chairman of a CDC to be the mayor for the district that the CDC is appointed for. As it is the practice for Members of Parliament (MPs) to be appointed as Chairmen of CDCs, these MPs have also been designated as mayors. There are currently five districts in the country.

The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Based on the Westminster system, it consists of elected Members of Parliament (MPs), non-constituency MPs (NCMPs) and Nominated MPs (NMPs). Following the 2025 general election, 97 MPs from two political parties, the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and the opposition Workers' Party (WP), were elected to the 15th Parliament. 2 NCMPs from the latter were also appointed ("elected" in the language of Singaporean law). Nine NMPs are usually appointed by the president on a biennial basis.

The Speaker of Parliament presides over sittings and oversees the administration of Parliament. The Leader of the House is appointed by the prime minister to manage government business and the legislative programme, while the Leader of the Opposition leads the largest political party not in government. Some work is carried out by select committees of MPs. Standing committees are permanent, while ad hoc committees are established to examine specific matters, including bills. Selected backbenchers of the PAP serve on Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) to review policies, programmes, and proposed legislation of government ministries.

The regions of Singapore serve as urban planning subdivisions of the country at the highest level as demarcated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to support its planning work. Over time, other government agencies have also adopted these five regions for administrative purposes, such as the Department of Statistics in conducting censuses. Singapore's regions are further subdivided into 55 planning areas on the second level, which include two water catchment areas, and planning areas are further divided into subzones on the lowest level. The largest region in terms of area is the West Region with 218.4 km (84.3 sq mi), while the Central Region is the most populous with an estimated population of 922,980 inhabitants in the area in 2019.

The country is governed as a unitary state without provinces or states. While referenced by some government organisations, these regions are not formal administrative subdivisions but are mainly geographical in nature or used for urban planning. For local governance, Singapore is divided into five Community Development Council (CDC) districts on the second level, each headed by a mayor. These districts are made up of electoral constituencies, which are administered at the lowest level by town councils. A town council may oversee one or more constituencies, and its boundaries do not necessarily align with those of CDC districts. CDC mayors are not directly elected but are Members of Parliament (MPs) representing constituencies within their respective districts. Electoral boundaries can change with each general election, while regional and planning area boundaries have remained largely fixed.