This is a list of political parties in Singapore, including existing and historical ones. The earliest political parties were established in the lead-up to Singapore first Legislative Council elections in
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
. Singapore is a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
Minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
s are uncommon, as elections have not resulted in a hung parliament since independence.
Legislative power is vested in 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
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
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, as well as the appointment of key
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
,
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
and
Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...
posts. They also exercise powers over
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
Corruption Perceptions Index
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entru ...
, and the degree of
accountability
Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the publ ...
and transparency is reflected in the public's high level of satisfaction with the political institutions.
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Loren Friedman (; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global tr ...
of the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' also considers the country's civil service to be one of the most efficient and uncorrupt bureaucracies in the world, with a high standard of discipline and accountability. The
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
's governance indicators have also rated Singapore highly on rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness.
History
Pre-independence
Amongst the oldest parties, the
Malay Union
The Malay Union ( ms, Kesatuan Melayu) was a political party in Singapore.
History
The party was established on 14 May 1926 as a religious and cultural organisations for the Malay community.Progressive Party and Labour Party, both established in the late 1940s, were some of the pioneering local establishments, with the PP the only party to contest in the first elections in 1948, and the LP coming on board in 1951. By 1955, the fledgling British colony had seven parties contesting, and reached a pinnacle of 13 parties in 1959. A total of three parties were established in the 1940s, 12 in the 1950s and five in the 1960s.
Post-independence
20th century
Post-independence Singapore saw the dominance of the People's Action Party, which first came into power in 1959. On 16 May 1960, a new Societies Ordinance was passed, and in December 1966, local parties were forbidden from being affiliated to foreign ones. This directly impacted the handful of small parties with links to Malaysia, most of which renamed themselves and/or cut formal foreign ties. The PAP's dominance stemming from Singapore's economic advancement further weakened the smaller opposition parties, with a majority of Singaporeans voting for the PAP in subsequent elections. To date, 13 parties have officially dissolved, mostly through mergers with other parties.
Still, new parties continued to be established. Seven new parties were formed in the 1970s (including the
Justice Party, Singapore
The Singapore Justice Party (abbreviation: SJP) is a political party in Singapore.
Background
The party has been based mostly in Marine Parade district of Singapore since the party has taken part in general elections after 1988 by fielding its c ...
and the United Front, the preprocessor of today's
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
), two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s, three in the 2000s, and six in the 2010s. The newest party to be registered is Singapore United Party, on 24 December 2020. There are therefore a total of 30 registered political parties today, of which ten have never contested in an election.
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura
The Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura ( abbreviation: PKMS; English: Singapore Malay National Organisation) is a political party in Singapore.
History
The origins of Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS) were rooted in the Singap ...
and the
Justice Party, Singapore
The Singapore Justice Party (abbreviation: SJP) is a political party in Singapore.
Background
The party has been based mostly in Marine Parade district of Singapore since the party has taken part in general elections after 1988 by fielding its c ...
, with the SPP being the lead party. The vision was to bring all opposition parties under one banner to counter the PAP's dominance, but it was met with limited success due to opposition infighting. The NSP left the alliance in 2007, and in 2010, the SPP itself left when there was internal disagreements over the SPP's attempts to bring in the newly formed Reform Party.
After the
2015 Singaporean general election
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...
Red Dot United
Red Dot United (abbreviation: RDU) is an Opposition (politics), opposition List of political parties in Singapore, political party in Singapore.
History
The party was founded on 26 May 2020 by members of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) who ...
Singapore United Party
The Singapore United Party (abbreviation: SUP) is an opposition political party in Singapore founded on 24 December 2020.
Party founding
The party was formed out of former members of the Reform Party in the aftermath of the 2020 Singaporean ge ...
Member 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 ...
Tan Cheng Bock and 11 other members. Former Progress Singapore Party members Ravi Philemon and Michelle Lee, together with other former members of other political parties submitted an application to form the
Red Dot United
Red Dot United (abbreviation: RDU) is an Opposition (politics), opposition List of political parties in Singapore, political party in Singapore.
History
The party was founded on 26 May 2020 by members of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) who ...
to the Registry of Societies.
Another party was formed out of former members of the Reform Party in the aftermath of the
2020 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on Friday, 10 July 2020 to elect 93 members to the Parliament of Singapore across 31 constituencies. Parliament was dissolved and the general election called by President Halimah Yacob on 23 June, on ...
, called the
Singapore United Party
The Singapore United Party (abbreviation: SUP) is an opposition political party in Singapore founded on 24 December 2020.
Party founding
The party was formed out of former members of the Reform Party in the aftermath of the 2020 Singaporean ge ...
.
Legislation
Under the current legislation, all political parties (termed "Political Associations") must be registered under the Societies Act. As such, the following rules pertaining to political associations apply:
* All members of political parties must be Singaporean citizens.
* Political Association must not be affiliated or connected with any organisation outside Singapore. The fact that a political association uses a name or symbol which is the same as that of an organisation outside Singapore shall be deemed to be sufficient evidence that the political association has an affiliation or connection with that organisation.
The government has the power to dissolve the party if it contravenes the above rules, or any other rule applicable to all forms of registered societies.
Under the Political Donations Act which came into force on 15 February 2001, Political Associations are also barred from accepting any donation in cash or kind from impermissible donors, or from anonymous donors where the value exceeds S$5,000. The government announced that it was to "prevent foreigners from interfering in domestic politics through the financial support for any association's cause", and cited an example of a case in 1959 when S$700,000 was sent to Chew Swee Kee, then Education Minister from the Singapore People's Alliance by a "neighbouring intelligence service in a "black operation" against the interests of Singapore". Another case was also cited pertaining to foreign financial support for Francis Seow of the Workers' Party in 1988.
The People's Action Party donated $20,000 to Australian political parties through (
Singtel
Singapore Telecommunications Limited, commonly known as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate and one of the four major telcos operating in the country. The company is the largest mobile network operator in Singapore with ...
-owned) Optus in 2010, although the motives and details of the donation remain unverified.
Political parties
There have been a total of 43 political parties (not including Malaysia's parties, those contested in both Malaysia and Singapore elections, or those which contested during Singapore's merger with Malaysia) in Singapore.
Party or Alliance active Party or Alliance active, but collated to another party or alliance Party or Alliance dissolved Party or Alliance registered, but is yet to contest Party or Alliance's status unknown
Current Political Parties
Shirt colours
The candidates and supporters of the various political parties tend to wear the following shirt colours while making their rounds in various wards or campaigning.
presidential elections
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pr ...
(the latter which requires
nonpartisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
candidacy).
# The party was contested under the coalition of Singapore People's Party (SPP).
# The party was contested under the coalition of Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA).
# The party was contested under the coalition of United People's Front (UPF).
Malayan Democratic Union
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-ne ...
(dissolved in 1948)
*
Singapore Socialist Party
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
Politics of Singapore
Singapore is 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. Executive power is exercised by the ...
*
Elections in Singapore
There are currently two types of elections in Singapore: parliamentary and presidential elections. According to the Constitution of Singapore, general elections for Parliament must be conducted within three months of the dissolution of Parlia ...
*
List of political parties by country
This is a list of ruling political parties by country, in the form of a table with a link to an overview of political parties in each country and showing which party system is dominant in each country. A political party is a political organizat ...
Constituencies of Singapore
Constituencies in Singapore are electoral divisions which may be represented by single or multiple seats in the Parliament of Singapore. Constituencies are classified as either Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) or Group Representation Const ...
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
Political parties
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 ideological or pol ...
Political parties
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 ideological or pol ...
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...