Singaporean general election, 1988
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81 seats (plus 2 NCMPs) to the Parliament of Singapore. Only 50 seats contested; 41 seats needed for a majority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 94.7% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Singapore |
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General elections were held in Singapore on 3 September 1988. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 80 of the 81 seats. Voter turnout was 94.7%, although this figure represents the turnout in the 50 constituencies to be contested,[1] with PAP candidates earning walkovers in the other 31.
Overview
Group Representation Constituencies were introduced in this general election to ensure ethnic minority representation in Parliament, starting with three joint constituencies. This was the last time Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew led the PAP in an election and another two stalwarts, former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Toh Chin Chye and Senior Minister S. Rajaratnam, retired for the PAP's renewal process.
Two seats were vacated in 1986 - the seat of Anson for Workers' Party (WP) Member of Parliament and chief J. B. Jeyaretnam and Geylang West of PAP MP Teh Cheang Wan, the former convicted and disqualified as MP for improper party accounts, while the latter committed suicide while on investigations for corruption - but no by-election was held. The Workers' Party absorbed two parties, Barisan Sosialis (BS) and Singapore United Front to become the largest opposition party and also allied with the Malay party PKMS as one common unit.
Former solicitor-general and Law Society president, Francis Seow, standing under the WP ticket in Eunos Group Representation Constituency with veteran politician Dr Lee Siew Choh, came under fire from the PAP leadership for his alleged dubious financial circumstances. Nevertheless, the strong WP team caught PAP's attention and Tay Eng Soon, a popular PAP stalwart, was switched to face the team. In the end, PAP won the GRC by an extremely narrow margin of 50.9% for the PAP and 49.1% for the WP.
With the Singapore Democratic Party leader's Chiam See Tong sole victory in the seat of Potong Pasir, two Non-Constituency MP seats were offered to Dr Lee and Seow.
Francis Seow fled the country to avoid arrest and was disqualified from the post while Dr Lee took up the offer and became Singapore's first NCMP. This also marked his return to Parliament after 25 years since his last stint as a PAP and BS legislator. Once again, there was a significant increase of election deposit.
In November 1990, two years after the election, the Nominated MP scheme was implemented to introduce non-partisan voices into the legislature. Although the law allowed up to six NMPs, two were appointed at the start and served for a year before the Parliament term ended.
Boundary changes
Constituency | Changes |
---|---|
Formation of Group Representation Constituencies | |
Aljunied GRC | Formed from Aljunied, Kampong Kembangan and Kampong Ubi SMCs |
Bedok GRC | Formed from Bedok, Kampong Chai Chee and Tanah Merah SMCs |
Brickworks GRC | Formed from Brickworks, Alexandra and Queenstown SMCs |
Cheng San GRC | Formed from Cheng San, Chong Boon and Jalan Kayu SMCs |
Eunos GRC | Formed from Eunos, Kaki Bukit and a portion of Tampines SMCs (The latter part was renamed to Tampines North) |
Hong Kah GRC | Formed from with part of Hong Kah (Hong Kah Central), Yuhua (Hong Kah South) and Bukit Batok SMCs (Hong Kah North) |
Jalan Besar GRC | Formed from Jalan Besar, Kolam Ayer and Geylang West SMCs. |
Marine Parade GRC | Formed from Marine Parade, Joo Chiat and Geylang Serai SMCs. |
Pasir Panjang GRC | Formed from Clementi, West Coast and Pasir Panjang SMCs. |
Sembawang GRC | Formed from parts of Nee Soon (Chong Pang and Nee Soon East) and most of Sembawang SMCs Nee Soon Central and Nee Soon South subsumed into its own SMCs |
Tampines GRC | Formed from Tampines SMC by splitting into three divisions (Tampines Changkat, Tampines East and Tampines West), and Changkat SMC |
Tiong Bahru GRC | Formed from Delta, Tiong Bahru, Radin Mas and Henderson SMCs, Delta absorbed into Tiong Bahru division. |
Toa Payoh GRC | Formed from Boon Teck, Khe Bong, Kuo Chuan and Toa Payoh SMCs, with Khe Bong absorbed into Boon Teck division. |
New Single Member Constituencies | |
Bukit Gombak SMC | Split from Bukit Batok SMC |
Hougang SMC | Split from Punggol SMC |
Nee Soon Central SMC Nee Soon East SMC | Split from Nee Soon SMC |
Other Changes in existing Constituencies | |
Ang Mo Kio SMC | Absorbed Bo Wen SMC |
Cairnhill SMC | Absorbed River Valley SMC |
Tanjong Pagar SMC | Absorbed Anson SMC |
Kampong Glam SMC | Absorbed Rochore SMC |
Kreta Ayer SMC | Absorbed Telok Ayer SMC |
New candidates
- A Nasser Kamaruddin
- Chay Wai Chuen
- Charles Chong
- Choo Wee Khiang
- George Yeo Yong Boon
- Hong Hai
- John Chen Seow Phun
- K Shanmugam
- Lew Syn Pau
- Loh Meng See
- Low Seow Chay
- Ong Chit Chung
- Peh Chin Hua
- Peter Sung
- Seet Ai Mee
- Wong Kwei Cheong
Retiring candidates
Candidate | Age | Constituency | Since | Replacement |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ang Kok Peng | 61 | Buona Vista | 1972 | Peter Sung |
Chai Chong Yii | 53 | Bukit Batok | 1972 | Ong Chit Chung |
E.W. Barker | 68 | Tanglin | 1959 | Lew Syn Pau |
Eric Cheong | 58 | Toa Payoh | 1968 | Davinder Singh |
Fong Sip Chee | 50 | Kampong Chai Chee | 1963 | Hong Hai |
Jek Yeun Thong | 58 | Queenstown | 1968 | Chay Wai Chuen |
Lai Tha Chai | 52 | Henderson | 1972 | S Vasoo |
Ong Pang Boon | 58 | Telok Ayer | 1959 | Merged into Kreta Ayer |
Phua Bah Lee | 56 | Tampines | 1968 | Split into three different wards |
S. Rajartnam | 73 | Kampong Glam | 1959 | Loh Meng See |
Tang See Chim | 56 | Chua Chu Kang | 1966 | Low Seow Chay |
Toh Chin Chye | 68 | Rochor | 1959 | Merged into Kampong Glam |
Yeo Choo Kok | 52 | Delta | 1970 | Merged into Kim Seng |
Results
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
People's Action Party | 848,029 | 63.2 | 80 | +3 |
Workers' Party | 224,473 | 16.7 | 0 | –1 |
Singapore Democratic Party | 158,341 | 11.8 | 1 | 0 |
National Solidarity Party | 50,432 | 3.8 | 0 | New |
United People's Front | 17,282 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 |
Singapore Justice Party | 14,660 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
Singapore Malay National Organisation | 13,526 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
Angkatan Islam | 280 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Independents | 15,412 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
Invalid/blank votes | 30,629 | – | – | – |
Total | 1,373,064 | 100 | 81 | +2 |
Registered voters/turnout | 1,449,838 | 86.9 | – | – |
Source: Singapore Elections |
References
- ↑ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p255 ISBN 0-19-924959-8