Wong Souk Yee v AG
[2019] SGCA 25
left to be represented by less than its full complement of Members where one or
more of them has vacated his or her seat. It is therefore unnecessary to consider
the existence and scope of the basic structure doctrine for the purpose of
disposing of this appeal.
79
The Appellant added a gloss to her argument on the implied right to
representation, which is that Art 39(1)(a) of the Constitution provides evidence
that voters have the right to be represented by the full slate of elected Members
returned at each general election. Article 39(1)(a) reads:
Parliament
39.—(1) Parliament shall consist of —
(a)
such number of elected Members as is required
to be returned at a general election by the
constituencies prescribed by or under any law
made by the Legislature …
…
[emphasis added]
80
The Appellant argues that the word “shall” in Art 39(1)(a) creates a
requirement that the total number of elected Members in Parliament must
comprise the number required to be returned at each general election. Since 89
elected Members were returned in the 2015 General Election, Parliament must
always comprise that number of elected Members until it is dissolved and any
vacant seat must thus be filled by a by-election.
81
We reject this argument. A similar contention was considered and
rejected by this court in Vellama at [91]. The Appellant submits that the
arguments in Vellama are irrelevant because the court in that case was
concerned with whether Parliament had the competence to legislate in the event
of a vacancy. However, this ignores the fact that the appellant in Vellama was
34