1968 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on 13 April 1968, the first as an independent state following the island's expulsion from Malaysia. The elections were boycotted by all opposition parties except the Workers Party, which only contested two constituencies. With five independents also running, only seven seats (Farrer Park, Geylang Serai, Jalan Kayu, Kampong Ubi, Moulmein, Nee Soon and Tanjong Pagar) were contested,[1] resulting in People's Action Party (PAP) candidates returned unopposed in the other 51 seats, a first in history PAP returned to power during nomination day.
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All 58 seats to the Parliament of Singapore 30 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 91.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Winner by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Singapore |
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Although the total electorate was 759,367, only 84,883 voters lived in seven contested seats. The turnout was 91.8%, or 77,952 voters.[2]
Background
Following the resignations of eleven MPs from Barisan Sosialis (BS) and two other BS MPs fleeing Singapore to escape the Internal Security Department, five by-elections were held within three years but PAP were successful in winning all the seats, resulting in a monopoly.
Timeline
Date | Event |
---|---|
8 February | Dissolution of 1st Parliament |
17 February | Nomination Day |
13 April | Polling day |
6 May | Opening of 2nd Parliament |
Electoral system
The 58 members of Parliament were elected in 58 single-member constituencies, an increase from 51 in the 1963 elections. The constituencies introduced or removed in the election, as well as constituencies with changes of boundaries, were shown on the table:
Constituency | Changes |
---|---|
New Constituencies | |
Alexandra | Carved out from Queenstown constituency |
Bukit Ho Swee | Carved out from Delta constituency |
Kampong Chai Chee | Carved out from Kampong Kembangan, Siglap and Tampines constituencies |
Kampong Ubi | Carved out from Geylang Serai constituency |
Katong | Carved out from Mountbatten constituency |
MacPherson Potong Pasir | Carved out from Aljunied constituency |
Whampoa | Carved out from Katong constituency |
Defunct Constituencies | |
Southern Islands | Absorbed to Jurong, Pasir Panjang and Telok Blangah constituencies |
Campaign
BS boycotted the elections on the grounds that Singapore's independence was "phoney" and several opposition parties heeded its call. The leaders of Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (formerly the local branch of the UNMO), Ahmad Haji Taff, and the Singapore Chinese Party (formerly the local branch of the MCA), Chng Boon Eng, turned up but did not file their nominations. Three precedents were made in this election: the fewest seats (seven) contested in a general election, the first time PAP was returned to power on nomination day and the first time it won all seats. Walkovers became a perpetual feature in every succeeding general election until 2015, 47 years or 11 elections later.
Results
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
People's Action Party | 65,812 | 86.7 | 58 | +21 | ||
Workers' Party | 3,049 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Independents | 7,033 | 9.3 | 0 | 0 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 2,058 | – | – | – | ||
Total | 77,952 | 100 | 58 | +7 | ||
Eligible voters/turnout[lower-alpha 1] | 759,367 | 91.8 | – | – | ||
Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections |
By constituency
Constituency | Electorate | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alexandra | 13,317 | ![]() |
Wong Lin Ken | Uncontested walkover | |
Aljunied | 14,472 | ![]() |
Mohamad Ghazali bin Ismail | Uncontested walkover | |
Anson | 8,764 | ![]() |
Perumal Govindaswamy | Uncontested walkover | |
Bras Basah | 9,718 | ![]() |
Ho See Beng | Uncontested walkover | |
Bukit Ho Swee | 17,735 | ![]() |
Seah Mui Kok | Uncontested walkover | |
Bukit Merah | 19,319 | ![]() |
Lim Guan Hoo | Uncontested walkover | |
Bukit Panjang | 17,893 | ![]() |
Pathmanaban Selvadurai | Uncontested walkover | |
Bukit Timah | 16,769 | ![]() |
Chor Yeok Eng | Uncontested walkover | |
Cairnhill | 12,287 | ![]() |
Lim Kim San | Uncontested walkover | |
Changi | 15,594 | ![]() |
Sim Boon Woo | Uncontested walkover | |
Chua Chu Kang | 12,879 | ![]() |
Tang See Chim | Uncontested walkover | |
Crawford | 7,190 | ![]() |
Low Yong Nguan | Uncontested walkover | |
Delta | 17,715 | ![]() |
Chan Choy Siong | Uncontested walkover | |
Farrer Park | 10,290 | ![]() |
Lee Chiaw Meng | 7,826 | 84.91 / 100 |
Independent | Madai Puthan Damodaran Nair | 1,391 | 15.09 / 100 | ||
Geylang East | 16,185 | ![]() |
Ho Cheng Choon | Uncontested walkover | |
Geylang Serai | 12,741 | ![]() |
Rahmat bin Kenap | 9,363 | 83.01 / 100 |
Independent | Darus bin Shariff | 1,916 | 16.99 / 100 | ||
Geylang West | 14,609 | ![]() |
Yong Nyuk Lin | Uncontested walkover | |
Havelock | 11,049 | ![]() |
Lim Soo Peng | Uncontested walkover | |
Hong Lim | 10,388 | ![]() |
Lee Khoon Choy | Uncontested walkover | |
Jalan Besar | 11,400 | ![]() |
Chan Chee Seng | Uncontested walkover | |
Jalan Kayu | 12,878 | ![]() |
Hwang Soo Jin | 9,581 | 82.30 / 100 |
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Sum Chong Meng | 2,060 | 17.70 / 100 | ||
Joo Chiat | 12,335 | ![]() |
Yeoh Ghim Seng | Uncontested walkover | |
Jurong | 11,445 | ![]() |
Ho Kah Leong | Uncontested walkover | |
Kallang | 9,309 | ![]() |
Abdul Aziz bin Karim | Uncontested walkover | |
Kampong Chai Chee | 17,636 | ![]() |
Sha'ari bin Tadin | Uncontested walkover | |
Kampong Glam | 9,484 | ![]() |
Sinnathamby Rajaratnam | Uncontested walkover | |
Kampong Kapor | 10,818 | ![]() |
Lim Cheng Lock | Uncontested walkover | |
Kampong Kembangan | 15,862 | ![]() |
Mohamed Ariff bin Suradi | Uncontested walkover | |
Kampong Ubi | 13,434 | ![]() |
Ya'acob bin Mohamed | 9,797 | 81.87 / 100 |
Independent | Tay Mook Yong | 2,169 | 18.13 / 100 | ||
Katong | 14,872 | ![]() |
Joseph Francis De Conceicao | Uncontested walkover | |
Kreta Ayer | 11,575 | ![]() |
Goh Keng Swee | Uncontested walkover | |
MacPherson | 13,099 | ![]() |
Chua Sian Chin | Uncontested walkover | |
Moulmein | 11,888 | ![]() |
Sia Khoon Seong | 9,675 | 90.56 / 100 |
Independent | T. T. Joseph(Loses $500 deposit) | 1,009 | 9.44 / 100 | ||
Mountbatten | 12,760 | ![]() |
Ng Yeow Chong | Uncontested walkover | |
Nee Soon | 12,846 | ![]() |
Ong Soo Chuan | 10,442 | 91.35 / 100 |
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Wong Hong Toy(Loses $500 deposit) | 989 | 8.65 / 100 | ||
Pasir Panjang | 12,394 | ![]() |
Othman bin Wok | Uncontested walkover | |
Paya Lebar | 17,573 | ![]() |
Tay Boon Too | Uncontested walkover | |
Potong Pasir | 11,782 | ![]() |
Sellappa Ramaswamy | Uncontested walkover | |
Punggol | 12,277 | ![]() |
Ng Kah Ting | Uncontested walkover | |
Queenstown | 16,193 | ![]() |
Jek Yeun Thong | Uncontested walkover | |
River Valley | 10,865 | ![]() |
Low Guan Onn | Uncontested walkover | |
Rochore | 12,222 | ![]() |
Toh Chin Chye | Uncontested walkover | |
Sembawang | 11,220 | ![]() |
Teong Eng Siong | Uncontested walkover | |
Sepoy Lines | 11,409 | ![]() |
Wee Toon Boon | Uncontested walkover | |
Serangoon Gardens | 9,454 | ![]() |
Leonard Peter Rodrigo | Uncontested walkover | |
Siglap | 11,627 | ![]() |
Abdul Rahim bin Ishak | Uncontested walkover | |
Stamford | 9,919 | ![]() |
Andrew Fong Sip Chee | Uncontested walkover | |
Tampines | 12,703 | ![]() |
Phua Bah Lee | Uncontested walkover | |
Tanglin | 13,332 | ![]() |
Edmund William Barker | Uncontested walkover | |
Tanjong Pagar | 10,806 | ![]() |
Lee Kuan Yew | 9,128 | 94.34 / 100 |
Independent | Rengaswamy Vetrivelu(Loses $500 deposit) | 548 | 5.66 / 100 | ||
Telok Ayer | 11,721 | ![]() |
Ong Pang Boon | Uncontested walkover | |
Telok Blangah | 14,785 | ![]() |
N. Naidu Govindasamy | Uncontested walkover | |
Thomson | 15,911 | ![]() |
Ang Nam Piau | Uncontested walkover | |
Tiong Bahru | 16,532 | ![]() |
Ch'ng Jit Koon | Uncontested walkover | |
Toa Payoh | 19,143 | ![]() |
Eric Cheong Yuen Chee | Uncontested walkover | |
Ulu Pandan | 13,289 | ![]() |
Lee Teck Him | Uncontested walkover | |
Upper Serangoon | 13,373 | ![]() |
Sia Kah Hui | Uncontested walkover | |
Whampoa | 12,854 | ![]() |
Buang bin Omar Junid | Uncontested walkover | |
Source: ELD |
Notes
- 674,484 of the 759,367 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies
References
- Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p254 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
- Parliamentary General Election 1968 Singapore Elections