General elections were held in Singapore on 3 September 1988. President Wee Kim Wee dissolved parliament on 17 August 1988 on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 80 of the 81 seats. This was the last time Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew led the PAP in an election.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 81 directly elected seats in Parliament (and up to 3 NCMPs) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered | 1,669,013[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 94.70% ( 0.95pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Results by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Though the total eligible voter population surpassed one million in 1976, the 1988 elections was the first time that over one million voters were able to vote in contested constituencies. This was not repeated until 2006.
Overview edit
In 1986, Town Councils were introduced, which also cumulates to the creation of Group Representation Constituencies, a plurality general ticket voting scheme, to ensure ethnic minority representation in Parliament, starting with three member constituencies. This was also the first election where changes to electoral boundaries were approved by the Prime Minister's Office instead of tabling a bill in Parliament to approve changes.[1]
The Workers' Party absorbed the two parties, Barisan Sosialis (BS) and Singapore United Front to become the largest opposition party and also allied with the Malay party PKMS as a single faction.
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.
Timeline edit
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 June | Publication of Electoral Boundaries report |
| 17 August | Dissolution of 6th Parliament |
| 24 August | Nomination Day |
| 3 September | Polling Day |
| 16 September[2] | Non-constituency Member of Parliament posts declared |
| 9 January 1989 | Opening of 7th Parliament |
Electoral boundaries edit
In addition to the creation of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) scheme, single member constituencies (SMC) were either formed from or absorbed to neighboring constituencies due to development and electorate, which was shown in the table below:
| 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 Alexandra, Brickworks 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 was renamed to Tampines North) |
| Hong Kah GRC | Formed from parts of Bukit Batok (Hong Kah North), Hong Kah (Hong Kah Central) and Yuhua SMCs (Hong Kah South) |
| Jalan Besar GRC | Formed from Geylang West, Jalan Besar and Kolam Ayer SMCs. |
| Marine Parade GRC | Formed from Geylang Serai, Joo Chiat and Marine Parade SMCs. |
| Pasir Panjang GRC | Formed from Clementi, Pasir Panjang and West Coast 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 were subsumed into its own SMCs |
| Tampines GRC | Formed from Changkat SMC and Tampines SMC (the latter was divided into Tampines Changkat, Tampines East and Tampines West) |
| Tiong Bahru GRC | Formed from Delta, Henderson, Tiong Bahru and Radin Mas SMCs; Delta was absorbed into Tiong Bahru division. |
| Toa Payoh GRC | Formed from Boon Teck, Khe Bong, Kuo Chuan and Toa Payoh SMCs; Khe Bong was absorbed into Boon Teck division. |
| New Single Member Constituencies | |
| Bukit Gombak SMC | Carved out from Bukit Batok SMC |
| Hougang SMC | Carved out from Punggol SMC |
| Nee Soon Central SMC Nee Soon East SMC | Carved out from Nee Soon SMC |
| Defunct Single Member Constituencies | |
| Anson SMC | Absorbed to Tanjong Pagar SMC |
| Bo Wen SMC | Absorbed to Ang Mo Kio SMC |
| River Valley SMC | Absorbed to Cairnhill SMC |
| Rochore SMC | Absorbed to Kampong Glam SMC |
| Telok Ayer SMC | Absorbed to Kreta Ayer SMC |
New candidates edit
The election introduced certain prominent members such as George Yeo, K Shanmugam, Mah Bow Tan, as well as a future WP and opposition leader Low Thia Khiang, who made his debut in Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency.
Outgoing candidates edit
13 MPs retired ahead of the election per the party's renewal, which include Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye and Senior Minister S. Rajaratnam. Before that, two other MPs had vacated but neither by-elections are called, which were J. B. Jeyaretnam (Anson) and Minister Teh Cheang Wan (Geylang West).
| 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. Rajaratnam | 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 edit
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Action Party | 848,029 | 63.17 | 80 | +3 | |
| Workers' Party | 224,473 | 16.72 | 1 | 0 | |
| Singapore Democratic Party | 158,341 | 11.80 | 1 | 0 | |
| National Solidarity Party | 50,432 | 3.76 | 0 | New | |
| United People's Front | 17,282 | 1.29 | 0 | 0 | |
| Singapore Justice Party | 14,660 | 1.09 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura | 13,526 | 1.01 | 0 | 0 | |
| Angkatan Islam | 280 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents | 15,412 | 1.15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1,342,435 | 100.00 | 82 | +2 | |
| Valid votes | 1,342,435 | 97.77 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 30,629 | 2.23 | |||
| Total votes | 1,373,064 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,669,013 | 94.70 | |||
| Source: Singapore Elections[b] | |||||
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 former solicitor-general and Law Society president, Francis Seow and veteran politician Dr Lee Siew Choh, both of which were standing under the WP ticket in Eunos Group Representation Constituency; their campaign was notable for criticizing PAP for alleged dubious financial circumstances; in response Minister of State Tay Eng Soon went to lead their PAP team for Eunos. Despite losing by a narrow margin of 49.1%-50.9%, WP were eligible for the NCMP; however, Seow fled the country on 17 December to avoid arrest and was disqualified from the post while Lee took up the offer and became Singapore's first NCMP, marking Lee's return to Parliament after 25 years since his last stint as a PAP and BS legislator.
By constituency edit
Notes edit
- ^ Of which 1,449,838 were in contested constituencies
- ^ 219,175 of the 1,669,013 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies
- ^ Elected as NCMP on 16 September 1988.
- ^ Elected as NCMP on 16 September 1988 but lost his seat with effect from 17 December 1988 due to being convicted and fined for tax evasion.
References edit
- ^ Singapore Elections. "PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION 1988". Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ National Library Board. "Francis Seow and Siew Choh made non-constituency MPs". Retrieved 16 July 2020.