There are currently two types of elections in Singapore:
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
and
presidential elections. According to the
Constitution of Singapore
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore. A written constitution, the text which took effect on 9 August 1965 is derived from the Constitution of the State of Singapore 1963, provisions of the Federal Const ...
, general elections for Parliament must be conducted within three months of the dissolution of Parliament, which has a maximum term of five years from the first sitting of Parliament, and presidential elections are conducted every six years.
The
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliam ...
is
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
with 93 seats. Since the
legislative assembly election in 1959, the
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
(PAP) has had an overwhelming majority, and for nearly two decades was the only political party to win any seats, and has always formed the
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...
.
Parliamentary elections
From Singapore's independence in 1965, to 1981, the
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
(PAP) won every single seat in every election held, forming a parliament with no elected opposition MP for almost two decades. In Singapore, opposition politicians and trade unionists were detained in prison without trial before the 1960s and early 1970s. Many such as
Lim Chin Siong
Lim Chin Siong (; 28 February 1933 – 5 February 1996) was a Singaporean politician and Trade union, union leader active in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the founders of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), which has ...
,
Said Zahari and
Lim Hock Siew were accused by the government of being involved in subversive communist struggles. Among them,
Chia Thye Poh
Chia Thye Poh (born 1941) is a Singaporean former politician. A former member of the Barisan Sosialis, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Jurong SMC between 1963 and 1966.
A leftist populist, Chia is most notable for being detained ...
was detained the longest; he was detained for 23 years without any trial.
From 1984, opposition politicians began being elected in parliament. Two out of the 74 seats went to opposition politicians. Subsequently, in 1988, the PAP won 76 out of the 77 seats; in 1991, PAP won 77 seats out of the 81 seats. In 1997, 2001 and 2006, two opposition candidates were elected during each respective parliamentary election. In 1988, former Solicitor-General of Singapore and opposition politician,
Francis Seow
Francis Seow, born Seow Tiang Siew ( zh, s=萧添寿, p=Xiāo Tiānshòu; 11 October 1928 – 21 January 2016), was a Singaporean lawyer who was Solicitor-General of Singapore and later the President of the Law Society of Singapore.
Seow started ...
was also detained without trial. He was later charged with tax evasion but he fled overseas and sought asylum successfully in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. He was convicted of tax evasion ''
in absentia
is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent".
may also refer to:
* Award in absentia
* Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body
* Election in absen ...
''. Workers' Party member Gopalan Nair also fled Singapore in the 1990s.
Catherine Lim argues that a climate of fear hurts Singapore. Prominent opposition politicians bankrupted and/or jailed in the 20th century also include
J. B. Jeyaretnam
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam ( ta, ஜோசுவா பெஞ்சமின் ஜெயரத்தினம்; 5 January 1926 – 30 September 2008), better known as J. B. Jeyaretnam or by his initials JBJ, was a Singaporean politician, law ...
,
Tang Liang Hong
Tang Liang Hong (; born 1935) is a politician and lawyer from Singapore.
Tang stood as a candidate for the opposition Workers' Party in the Cheng San Group Representation Constituency at the 1997 general election. The Worker's Party team i ...
and
Chee Soon Juan.
The campaigning time for elections in Singapore remains very short in the 21st century. The legal minimum campaign time, from when the election is announced to polling day, is nine days. This minimum campaigning time is generally used in the elections held in Singapore.
[Diane K. Muazy and R. S. Milne, ''Singapore Under the People's Action Party'' (London, 2002), p. 143.] The announcement of the election follows the announcement of new constituency boundaries.
Since the implementation of the
Group Representation Constituency (GRC), critics have accused the governing party of
gerrymandering
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
. The electoral system reduces the chances of opposition representation in Parliament with a "winner takes all" system. As pointed by NGO group Maruah Singapore, it "creates a barrier to entry" for smaller opposition political parties to contest in the general elections as they may find it hard to field a five-member team of talents, it also allows for the "free-riding of untested candidates" who get in on the back of stronger team members, such as the PAP candidates brought in to the
Tanjong Pagar GRC
The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Queenstown, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar- Tiong Bahr ...
, which was uncontested for 14 years when helmed by Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
. The
Elections Department
The Elections Department of Singapore (ELD), known exonymously as the Elections Department, is a department under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of the Government of Singapore which are responsible for overseeing the procedure for electio ...
, in charge of redrawing electoral boundaries without the need of parliamentary approval, was established as part of the executive branch under the
Prime Minister's Office (PMO), rather than as an independent body.
Critics have accused it of giving the governing party the power to decide polling districts and polling sites through electoral engineering, based on poll results in previous elections. Opposition politician Sylvia Lim has stated in Parliament, ''“The entire electoral boundary re-drawing process is completely shrouded in secrecy, chaired by the secretary to the Cabinet. There are no public hearings, no minutes of meeting published. The revised boundaries are released weeks or even days before Nomination Day. The report makes no attempt to explain why certain single seats are retained while others are dissolved, nor why new GRCs are created or old ones re-shaped.”''
Cheng San GRC
Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (Simplified Chinese: 静山集选区;Traditional Chinese: 靜山集選區) was a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the North-eastern region in Singapore. The GRC consisted of the eastern part ...
and
Eunos GRC
Eunos Group Representation Constituency (Simplified Chinese: 友诺士集选区;Traditional Chinese: 友諾士集選區) is a defunct Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern region of Singapore. This GRC existed for the 1988 a ...
were examples of constituencies dissolved by the Elections Department after opposition parties gained ground in elections, with voters redistributed to other constituencies.
However,
Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
has noted that elections in Singapore are technically free of electoral fraud. Throughout the history of the Republic of Singapore, hundreds of politicians have been elected in Parliament, of whom majority of unique candidates represent the governing
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
including late stalwarts like
Lee Khoon Choy
Lee Khoon Choy ( zh, c=李炯才, p=Lǐ Jǐongcái 24 January 1924 – 27 February 2016) was a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party, he was the Member of Parliament for Braddell Heights SMC between 1977 a ...
. Since 1965, 19 opposition politicians have been elected into Parliament, including
J. B. Jeyaretnam
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam ( ta, ஜோசுவா பெஞ்சமின் ஜெயரத்தினம்; 5 January 1926 – 30 September 2008), better known as J. B. Jeyaretnam or by his initials JBJ, was a Singaporean politician, law ...
,
Chiam See Tong
Chiam See Tong (; born 12 March 1935) is a Singaporean retired politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Potong Pasir SMC between 1984 and 2011. He was one of the two opposition MPs in Parliament.
Lawyer by profess ...
,
Low Thia Khiang
Low Thia Khiang (; born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP) between 2001 and 2018. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang SMC between 1991 and 2011 and Aljun ...
,
Ling How Doong
Ling How Doong (; 1935/1936 – 30 April 2021) was a Singaporean politician and lawyer who served as the Parliament of Singapore, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Gombak Single Member Constituency, Bukit Gombak SMC between 1991 and 1996.
Edu ...
,
Cheo Chai Chen
Cheo Chai Chen ( zh, s=蒋才正, p=Jiǎng Cáizhèng) is a Singaporean former politician and businessman. He won the constituency of Nee Soon Central and served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency from 1991 to 1997, when he ...
,
Chen Show Mao
Chen Show Mao ( zh, s=陈硕茂, p=Chén Shuòmào; born 6 February 1961) is a Singaporean politician. A graduate of Harvard, Oxford and Stanford, Chen was formerly a corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
He is a member of the oppositio ...
,
Yaw Shin Leong
Yaw Shin Leong (; born 2 June 1976) is a Singaporean businessman and former opposition politician of the Worker's Party.
He was previously a treasurer and was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Hougang after the 2011 Sin ...
,
Png Eng Huat
Png Eng Huat (; born 9 December 1961) is a Singaporean politician and businessman and a member of the opposition Worker's Party (WP).
Png became an elected opposition MP of Hougang SMC in the 12th and 13th Parliaments from 26 May 2012, to 23 ...
,
Lee Li Lian
Lee Li Lian (; born 19 July 1978) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), she was the Member of Parliament for Punggol East SMC between 2013 and 2015.
Lee made her political debut in the 2011 general election ...
, and also ten incumbent candidates from the
Workers' Party including Secretary-General
Pritam Singh, Chairwoman
Sylvia Lim and MP
Faisal Manap.
2020 general election
A general election was called on 23 June 2020, with Singaporeans electing their
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) on 10 July 2020.
Presidential elections
Presidential elections have been held since 1993. Under the "Presidential Elections Act", to run for president, one must obtain a "certificate of eligibility" from the Presidential Elections Committee. To obtain this certificate the candidate must:
* Be a
citizen of Singapore.
* Be at least 45 years of age.
* Be a registered voter.
* Be a resident in Singapore at the date of their nomination for election and a resident for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than ten years prior to that date.
* Not be subject to any of the following disqualifications:
::(a) being and having been found or declared to be of unsound mind;
::(b) being an undischarged bankrupt;
::(c) holding an office of profit;
::(d) having been nominated for election to Parliament or the office of President or having acted as election agent to a person so nominated, failing to lodge any return of election expenses required by law within the time and in the manner so required;
::(e) having been convicted of an offence by a court of law in Singapore or Malaysia and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than
S$2,000 and having not received a free pardon, provided that where the conviction is by a court of law in Malaysia, the person shall not be disqualified unless the offence is also one which, had it been committed in Singapore, would have been punishable by a court of law in Singapore;
::(f) having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of, or exercised rights of citizenship in, a foreign country, or having made a declaration of allegiance to a foreign country;
::(g) being disqualified under any law relating to offences in connection with elections to Parliament or the office of President by reason of having been convicted of such an offence or having in proceedings relating to such an election been proved guilty of an act constituting such an offence.
* Be a person of integrity, good character and reputation.
[Constitution, Art. 19(2)(e).]
* Not be a member of any
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
on the date of nomination for election.
* Have served for a at least three years in office —
** as
Minister,
Chief Justice,
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
,
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
, Chairman of the
Public Service Commission, Auditor-General, Accountant-General or
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
;
[Constitution, Art. 19(3)(a).]
** as
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) of a key statutory board or government company: the
Central Provident Fund Board
The Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), commonly known as the CPF Board or simply the Central Provident Fund (CPF), is a compulsory comprehensive savings and pension plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund their ...
, the
Housing and Development Board
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) (; ms, Lembaga Perumahan dan Pembangunan; ta, வீடமைப்பு வளர்ச்சிக் கழகம்) or often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the M ...
, the
Jurong Town Corporation, the
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the central bank and financial regulatory authority of Singapore. It administers the various statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well ...
,
Temasek Holdings
Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...
, or
GIC Private Limited (formerly known as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation);
[Constitution, Art. 19(3)(b) read with the Fifth Schedule.]
** as the most senior executive of a company with an average of $500 million in
shareholders' equity
In finance, equity is ownership of assets that may have debts or other liabilities attached to them. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets. For example, if someone owns a car worth $2 ...
for the most recent three years in that office, and which is profitable after
taxes
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...
;
[Constitution, Art. 19(4), read with Art. 19(7).] or
** in any other similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organisation or department of equivalent size or complexity in the
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
or
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
which has given him such experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to enable him to carry out effectively the functions and duties of the office of President.
[Constitution, Art. 19(3)(c) and Art 19(4)(b).]
Because of the high requirements needed to run for presidential elections, many presidential elections have been uncontested. All presidential elections have been walkovers except for the first one, held in 1993 which was contested by two people, and the 2011 one, contested by four people. The first presidential election was won by
Ong Teng Cheong
Ong Teng Cheong ( zh, c=王鼎昌, p=Wáng Dǐngchāng; 22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002) was a Singaporean politician who served as the fifth president of Singapore between 1993 and 1999. He was also the first elected president in Singapor ...
, a former member of the PAP. Subsequent presidential elections in 1999 and 2005 have been won by
S. R. Nathan through walkovers.
The 2011 presidential election was contested by
Tony Tan Keng Yam
Tony Tan Keng Yam (; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017. He did not seek for a second term as president in 2017 due to a constitutional amendment. ...
,
Tan Cheng Bock
Adrian Tan Cheng Bock ( zh, s=陈清木, p=Chén Qīngmù; born 26 April 1940) is a Singaporean politician and medical practitioner. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayer Rajah SMC between 1980 and 2001. He served as Secretary-General o ...
,
Tan Jee Say and
Tan Kin Lian. All candidates except Tan Jee Say were former members of the PAP, whose closest relation to the party was when he served as then-Deputy Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...
's principal private secretary from 1985 to 1990. The election was won by Tony Tan with a margin of 0.34% over Tan Cheng Bock.
2011 presidential election results
2017 presidential election
The 2017 presidential election was won by
Halimah Yacob
Halimah Yacob (Jawi script: ; born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former lawyer who has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore since 2017. Prior to her presidency, she was the country's Speaker of the Parliament of S ...
through an uncontested walkover.
Referendums
A
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
may also be held for important national issues, although it has been held only once in Singapore's political history for the 1962
merger referendum. Calls for a national referendum has been made since then, including the issue over the building of
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
s in Singapore.
Past elections
Legislative Council elections
*
1948 general election
*
1948 Rural West by-election
*
1951 general election
*
1952 Seletar by-election
Legislative Assembly elections
*
1955 general election
*
1957 by-elections
*
1959 general election
*
1961 by-elections (April and July)
As State of Malaysia
*
1963 general election
*
1965 Hong Lim by-election Merely a month before Singapore's separation from Malaysia and independence, UPP chief and sole Assembly Member Ong Eng Guan resigned his seat and retired from politics, precipitating a by-election. The by-election was held on 10 July 1965 with the ...
Parliamentary elections
*
1966 by-elections (January, March & November)
*
1967 by-elections
*
1968 general election (First general election as an independent nation)
*
1970 by-elections
*
1972 general election
*
1976 general election
*
1977 by-election (May & November)
*
1979 by-elections
*
1980 general election
*
1981 Anson by-election
*
1984 general election
*
1988 general election
*
1991 general election
*
1992 Marine Parade by-election
*
1997 general election
*
2001 general election
*
2006 general election
*
2011 general election
*
2012 Hougang by-election
*
2013 Punggol East by-election
*
2015 general election
*
2016 Bukit Batok by-election
*
2020 general election
Other elections
Municipal Commission elections
*
April 1949 ordinary election
*
December 1949 ordinary election
City Council elections
*
1957 ordinary election
*
1958 by-election
National referendums
*
1962 national referendum
Federal & State elections for Malaysia
*
1964 general election
Presidential elections
*
1993 presidential election
*
1999 presidential election
*
2005 presidential election
*
2011 presidential election
*
2017 presidential election
Party election
*
1959 PAP prime ministerial election
This is the only Prime Ministerial Election in Singapore history. The People's Action Party Central Executive Committee met on the victory of the 1959 Singaporean general election to elect a Prime Minister of Singapore, Prime Minister. At the end ...
Upcoming election
*
2023 presidential election
See also
*
Electoral calendar
This national electoral calendar for 2022 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2022 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
* 16 January: Se ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* .
External links
Singapore Elections Department websiteSingapore ElectionsAdam Carr's Election ArchiveNational Library of Singapore's resource guide on general elections in SingaporeConstitution of the Republic of SingaporeParliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 218), The Statutes of the Republic of Singapore
{{Singapore topics
Singapore politics-related lists