1991 Singaporean general election

General elections were held in Singapore on 31 August 1991. President Wee Kim Wee dissolved parliament on 14 August 1991 on the advice of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 77 of the 81 seats. Voter turnout was 95.0%, although this figure represents the turnout in the 25 constituencies to be contested,[1] with PAP candidates earning walkovers in the other 41; this was the second general election, after the 1968, where PAP returned to power on nomination day due to a majority of walkovers; a collaborative effort amongst all the opposition parties headed by Chiam See Tong decided to not contest all seats, so as to reassure voters to vote in ease for the opposition, known as a "by-election effect". This was to date, the only election, where no Non-constituency Member of Parliament seats were offered, as the four seats won by the opposition is more than the minimum number of oppositions at three.

1991 Singaporean general election

31 August 1991

81 seats to the Parliament of Singapore
Only 40 seats contested; 41 seats needed for a majority
Turnout95.0%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Goh Chok Tong Chiam See Tong J.B. Jeyaretnam
Party PAP SDP WP
Leader's seat Marine Parade GRC Potong Pasir SMC did not contest
Last election 80 seats, 63.2% 1 seat, 12.0% 0 seats+ 1 NCMP, 16.7%
Seats won 77 3 1
Seat change 3 2 1
Popular vote 477,760 93,856 112,010
Percentage 61.0% 12.0%(total) / 48.6%(valid) 14.3%(total) / 41.1%(valid)
Swing 2.2% 0.2%/9.1% 2.4%/2.6%

Prime Minister before election

Goh Chok Tong
PAP

Prime Minister after election

Goh Chok Tong
PAP

In 1992 Marine Parade by-election, the PAP retained their seat for Marine Parade GRC. Due to Ong Teng Cheong & Lee Hsien Loong were suffering from cancer. Goh decided to hold a by-election in a safe constituency with the best chances of winning for “political self-renewal” to get people of “ministerial calibre” to join the government under PAP.

Background

This was the inaugural election for Prime Minister and current PAP secretary-general Goh Chok Tong after then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew stepped down on 28 November 1990. Goh decided to call a snap election merely three years after the last election to court a fresh mandate, setting Parliament's shortest term ever.

An unprecedented four seats were won by the opposition, the biggest number since the 1963 election, and its share of votes fell for the third consecutive time since 1984, down to then-lowest share of 61.0%. The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) had eight out of nine candidates came in among the top ten opposition candidates, with the party added two more spoils to the seat as well as retaining Potong Pasir SMC by leader Chiam See Tong in a record-69.6% vote, clocking in then the best performance for an opposition party at the time of the election at 48.6% of the votes and becoming the main opposition party in Parliament. The Workers' Party of Singapore (WP) made its second in-road into the legislature with the victory of its organizing secretary Low Thia Khiang (who previously contested Tiong Bahru GRC in the last election and Hougang SMC on this election), who would years later become WP secretary-general and leader (2001-2018). All three incumbents who were defeated in the election were one-term MPs including Seet Ai Mee, Ng Pock Too and Tang Guan Seng; only Tang returned to the 1997 election as a member in Ang Mo Kio GRC.

At a post-election press conference on the night of 31 August, Goh glumly attributed the loss to his "open and consultative style of government" and pledged to re-evaluate his style. Since the introduction of the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament scheme in 1984, this was the first (and to date the only) election no NCMP seats were offered since four elected opposition seats exceeded the minimum of three NCMP seats allotted; the narrow defeat of WP's Eunos GRC team, helmed by Lee Siew Choh again, did not see to Lee's return as NCMP as a result. This was Lee's final legislature and electoral presence as he resigned from WP and retired from politics in 1993. The maximum of six Nominated MPs were appointed for this term, up from two Nominated MPs previously. Goh would later went to call an by-election for his constituency (Marine Parade GRC) in the following year to court another fresh mandate and paving the chance for J. B. Jeyaretnam to participate in the by-election after his ban expiring that year.

Timeline

Date Event
8 AugustPublication of Electoral Boundaries report
14 AugustDissolution of 7th Parliament
21 AugustNomination Day
31 AugustPolling day
6 January 1992Opening of 8th Parliament

Electoral boundaries

Existing GRCs

Another group of changes were necessary as it increased from three seats to four. Some of them are in the basis of expansion due to the fast growth of towns. The newer divisions are those because of developments of Simei, Jurong West, Bishan and Pasir Ris respectively. Many existing Single Member Constituencies were either remain intact or absorbed to GRCs, though existing GRCs have also created newer divisions.

Constituency Changes/New Group Representation Constituencies
Aljunied GRCAbsorbed Paya Lebar SMC
Ang Mo Kio GRCNew Constituency
Formed from Ang Mo Kio, Kebun Baru, Teck Ghee and Yio Chu Kang SMCs
Bedok GRCAbsorbed Fengshan and Siglap SMCs
Tanah Merah division was absorbed into Bedok division
Brickworks GRCAbsorbed Clementi and West Coast divisions from Pasir Panjang GRC
Alexandra division was absorbed into Brickworks and Queenstown divisions, while Pasir Panjang division was absorbed into Brickworks division
Cheng San GRCAbsorbed Punggol SMC
Eunos GRCPasir Ris division created
Hong Kah GRCHong Kah West division was split from Hong Kah South division
Jalan Besar GRCAbsorbed Kallang and a portion of Whampoa SMC
Kampong Glam GRCNew Constituency
Formed from Cairnhill, Kampong Glam, Kim Seng, Moulmein, and a portion of Whampoa SMC
Marine Parade GRCAbsorbed MacPherson SMC
Sembawang GRCAbsorbed Bukit Panjang SMC
Tampines GRCSplit Changkat division to include Changkat South division
Tanjong Pagar GRCNew Constituency
Formed from Henderson, Tanjong Pagar and Telok Blangah SMCs, and a majority of Tiong Bahru GRC
Thomson GRCNew Constituency
Formed from Serangoon Gardens and Thomson SMCs with divisions splitting to form Bishan East and Bishan North, respectively
Toa Payoh GRCAbsorbed Kim Keat SMC

New and retiring candidates

Retiring Candidates New Candidates
Abdul Nasser Kamaruddin, MP for Hong Kah GRC
Abbas bin Abdul Ramin, MP for Pasir Panjang GRC
Augustine Tan, MP for Whampoa
Chua Sian Chin, MP for MacPherson
Dhanabalan Suppiah, MP for Kallang (and constituency abolished).
Dixie Tan, MP for Ulu Pandan
Hong Hai, MP for Bedok GRC (Kampong Chai Chee)
Koh Lam Son, MP for Telok Blangah
Lawrence Sia, MP for Moulmein (also called Sia Khoon Seng)
Ng Kah Ting, MP for Punggol
Philip Tan, MP for Paya Lebar
Wan Hussin bin Haji Zoohri, MP for Aljunied GRC
Harun bin Abdul Ghani, 52
Ho Peng Kee, 37
Ker Sin Tze, 46
Koo Tsai Kee, 36
Lim Hng Kiang, 37
Matthias Yao, 35
Michael Lim, 30
Mohammad Maidin bin Packer, 34
Sinakaruppan Ramasamy, 32
Umar Abdul bin Hamid, 31

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
People's Action Party477,76060.9777–3
Workers' Party112,01014.291+1
Singapore Democratic Party93,85611.983+2
National Solidarity Party57,3067.3100
Singapore Justice Party15,2221.9400
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura12,8621.6400
Independents14,5961.8600
Total783,612100.00810
Valid votes783,61297.27
Invalid/blank votes21,9612.73
Total votes805,573100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,692,38495.03
Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections[lower-alpha 1]

By constituency

Constituency Seats Electorate Party Candidates Votes %
Aljunied GRC 4 94,490 People's Action Party Chin Harn Tong
Ker Sin Tze
Mohamad Maidin B P M
George Yeo
Uncontested walkover
Ang Mo Kio GRC 4 74,004 People's Action Party Lau Ping Sum
Lee Hsien Loong
Umar Abdul Hamid
Yeo Toon Chia
Uncontested walkover
Ayer Rajah SMC 1 21,887 People's Action Party Tan Cheng Bock 15,038
75.16 / 100
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Aziz Ibrahim 4,971
24.84 / 100
Bedok GRC 4 86,246 People's Action Party Abdullah bin Tarmugi
Beng Kian Lam Arthur
S. Jayakumar
Tan Soo Khoon
49,109
61.98 / 100
Workers' Party A Balakrishnan
Lim Chiu Liang J B
Sim Say Chuan
Tan Soo Phuan
30,121
38.02 / 100
Boon Lay SMC 1 15,007 People's Action Party Goh Chee Wee 10,106
73.27 / 100
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Sahid Bin Sahooman 3,686
26.73 / 100
Braddell Heights SMC 1 27,444 People's Action Party Goh Choon Kang 13,454
52.27 / 100
Singapore Democratic Party Sin Kek Tong 12,285
47.73 / 100
Brickworks GRC 4 101,440 People's Action Party Ahmad Mattar
Chay Wai Chuen
Chen Tien Lap Bernard
Wan Soon Bee
Uncontested walkover
Bukit Batok SMC 1 24,908 People's Action Party Ong Chit Chung 12,205
51.82 / 100
Singapore Democratic Party Kwan Yue Keng 11,347
48.18 / 100
Bukit Gombak SMC 1 24,961 Singapore Democratic Party Ling How Doong 12,037
51.40 / 100
People's Action Party Seet Ai Mee 11,383
48.60 / 100
Bukit Merah SMC 1 11,998 People's Action Party Ch'ng Jit Koon 6,878
61.94 / 100
Workers' Party Gopalan Nair 4,046
36.43 / 100
Independent Patrick Leong Siew Choong (Loses $6,000 deposit) 181
1.63 / 100
Bukit Timah SMC 1 24,512 People's Action Party Wang Kai Yuen 16,080
72.64 / 100
Workers' Party Zeng Guoyuan 5,683
25.68 / 100
Independent Md Sani Jan (Loses $6,000 deposit) 371
1.68 / 100
Buona Vista SMC 1 14,596 People's Action Party Peter Sung 10,481
79.42 / 100
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Abdul Karim B Abdul Sattar 2,716
20.58 / 100
Changi SMC 1 24,886 People's Action Party Teo Chong Tee 12,292
53.00 / 100
Workers' Party Tan Bin Seng 10,901
47.00 / 100
Cheng San GRC 4 92,979 People's Action Party Chandra Das S
Heng Chiang Meng
Lee Yock Suan
Michael Lim Chun Leng
54,963
64.05 / 100
National Solidarity Party Chng Chin Siah
Chng Wee Hong
Gertrude Magdeline De Gracias
Pok Lee Chuan
30,849
35.95 / 100
Chua Chu Kang SMC 1 22,797 People's Action Party Low Seow Chay 14,489
68.44 / 100
Independent Kwek Guan Kwee 5,071
23.95 / 100
Independent Harry W Baptist (Loses $6,000 deposit) 1,611
7.61 / 100
Eunos GRC 4 75,723 People's Action Party Chew Heng Ching
Charles Chong You Fook
Sidek B Saniff
Tay Eng Soon
45,833
52.38 / 100
Workers' Party Lee Siew Choh
Mohamed Jufrie Mahmood
Neo Choon Aik
Wee Han Kim
41,673
47.62 / 100
Hong Kah GRC 4 64,712 People's Action Party Chen John
Chen Koon Lap Kenneth
Harun Bin A Ghani
Yeo Cheow Tong
Uncontested walkover
Hougang SMC 1 21,476 Workers' Party Low Thia Khiang 10,621
52.82 / 100
People's Action Party Tang Guan Seng 9,487
47.18 / 100
Jalan Besar GRC 4 82,615 People's Action Party Choo Wee Khiang
Lee Boon Yang
Peh Chin Hua
Zulkifli Mohammed
Uncontested walkover
Jurong SMC 1 31,246 People's Action Party Ho Kah Leong 18,843
64.32 / 100
Workers' Party John Gan Eng Guan 8,965
30.60 / 100
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Mohamed Awang (Loses $6,000 deposit) 1,489
5.08 / 100
Kampong Glam GRC 4 73,317 People's Action Party Loh Meng See
R Sinnakaruppan
Wong Kwei Cheong
Yeo Ning Hong
Uncontested walkover
Kreta Ayer SMC 1 17,310 People's Action Party Hu Tsu Tau Richard Uncontested walkover
Leng Kee SMC 1 19,027 People's Action Party Ow Chin Hock 13,331
76.57 / 100
Independent G K Niddy 4,080
23.43 / 100
Marine Parade GRC 4 74,032 People's Action Party Goh Chok Tong
Lim Chee Onn
Othman Haron Eusofe
Matthias Yao Chih
51,685
77.25 / 100
Singapore Justice Party Aminuddin Bin Ami
Rajasekaran K S M
Suib Bin Abdul Rahman
Theng Chin Eng
15,222
22.75 / 100
Mountbatten SMC 1 15,497 People's Action Party Yap Giau Cheng Eugene 11,029
77.95 / 100
Independent Yen Kim Khooi 3,119
22.05 / 100
Nee Soon Central SMC 1 26,806 Singapore Democratic Party Cheo Chai Chen 12,709
50.33 / 100
People's Action Party Ng Pock Too 12,541
49.67 / 100
Nee Soon South SMC 1 27,722 People's Action Party Koh Lip Lin 13,719
52.76 / 100
Singapore Democratic Party Low Yong Nguan 12,284
47.24 / 100
Potong Pasir SMC 1 19,263 Singapore Democratic Party Chiam See Tong 12,582
69.64 / 100
People's Action Party Andy Gan Lai Chiang 5,486
30.36 / 100
Sembawang GRC 4 117,951 People's Action Party Ho Peng Kee
K Shanmugam
Lee Yiok Seng
Tony Tan Keng Yam
Uncontested walkover
Tampines GRC 4 69,801 People's Action Party Chng Hee Kok
Mah Bow Tan
Aline Wong
Yatiman Yusof
38,844
59.48 / 100
National Solidarity Party Ong Seng Kwe
Rasiah Thiagarajah
Sarry B Hassan
Ken Sunn
26,457
40.52 / 100
Tanglin SMC 1 16,801 People's Action Party Lew Syn Pau 9,113
68.52 / 100
Singapore Democratic Party Jimmy Tan Tiang Hoe 4,022
30.25 / 100
Independent Gnaguru Thamboo Mylvaganam (Loses $6,000 deposit) 163
1.23 / 100
Tanjong Pagar GRC 4 86,944 People's Action Party Koo Tsai Kee
Lee Kuan Yew
Lim Hng Kiang
S Vasoo
Uncontested walkover
Thomson GRC 4 68,294 People's Action Party Ibrahim B Othman
Lau Teik Soon
Leong Horn Kee
Wong Kan Seng
Uncontested walkover
Toa Payoh GRC 4 63,591 People's Action Party Davinder Singh
Ho Tat Kin
Ong Teng Cheong
S Dhanabalan
Uncontested walkover
Ulu Pandan SMC 1 22,299 People's Action Party Lim Boon Heng 11,426
56.41 / 100
Singapore Democratic Party Ashleigh Seow 8,828
43.59 / 100
Yuhua SMC 1 18,797 People's Action Party Foo Yee Shoon 9,945
56.16 / 100
Singapore Democratic Party Toh Kim Kiat 7,762
43.84 / 100
Source: ELD

Notes

  1. 844,668 of the 1,692,384 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies.

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p255 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
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