| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
11 September 2015 |
| Purpose of elections |
The People's Action Party (PAP), led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has been in power since 1965. The Party won 83 of the 89 seats being contested (see note 1). It took 69.9 per cent of the vote, up from 60.1 per cent in 2011. The main opposition, the Workers' Party (WPS), took the remainder of the seats. Since six opposition members were elected in 2015, three non-constituency members were nominated to parliament (see note 2).
The 2015 elections were the first to be held after Mr. Lee Kuan Yew died in March of that year. He was the country's first and long-serving prime minister and the father of the incumbent Prime Minister. The Constitution provides that the elections should by January 2017: they were held shortly after the country's 50th anniversary of independence, on 31 August 2015. During the election campaign, the major parties focused on measures to tackle the rising cost of living and housing problems after an increase in the levels of immigration to the city State. The population has increased from 4.17 million in 2004 to 5.47 million in 2014.
Note 1:
The number of directly elected seats increased from 87 to 89, in accordance with the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee of 21 July 2015. It recommended 13 Single-Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 16 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) for the 2015 elections, up from the current 12 SMCs and 15 GRCs.
Note 2:
In accordance with Article 52 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the number of non-constituency members is calculated by subtracting the total number of opposition members elected to Parliament from nine. The election commission initially declared that one woman and two men from the WPS had been elected as non-constituency members. However, Ms Lee Li Lian, an elected MP of the outgoing legislature, declined to take up her seat. She will remain a non-constituency member until the newly elected Parliament, due to be convened in January 2016, declares her seat vacant.
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Date of previous elections: 7 May 2011
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 25 August 2015
Timing of election: Early elections*
*In accordance with Article 65 (4) of the Constitution, Parliaments term last for five years from the date of its first sitting (held on 10 October 2011 for the outgoing legislature). Article 66 stipulates There shall be a general election at such time, within three months after every dissolution of Parliament. For the outgoing legislature, those three months fall between October 2016 and January 2017.
Expected date of next elections: September 2020
Number of seats at stake: 89 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 181 (146 men, 35 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 19.3%
Number of parties contesting the election: 9
Number of parties winning seats: 2
Alternation of power: No
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: People's Action Party (PAP) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 11 September 2015 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
2'462'926
2'307'746 (93.7%)
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|
Notes
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| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| People's Action Party (PAP) |
|
|
|
|
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| Workers' Party (WPS) |
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| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Directly elected |
Non-constituency |
|
|
| People's Action Party (PAP) |
83
|
83 |
0 |
|
|
| Workers' Party (WPS) |
9
|
6 |
3 |
|
|
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| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
70
22
23.91%
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| Distribution of seats according to age |
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
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| Comments |
Sources:
Parliament (29.09.2015, 03.02.2016, 23.02.2016, 05.04.2016, 13.05.2016, 08.08.2017)
Elections Department, Prime Minister's Office (30.10.2015)
http://www.eld.gov.sg
http://www.parliament.gov.sg/list-of-current-mps
http://www.channelnewsasia.com
http://www.theguardian.com
Note on the distribution of seats according to sex
In the 2015 elections 22 women were elected as follows:
- 21 of the 89 directly-elected members; and
- 1 non-constituency member*.
*The woman non-constituency member subsequently declined to take up her seat.
The newly elected Parliament declared her seat vacant on 29 January 2016.
She was replaced by a male member on 3 February 2016.
The number of women thus decreased to 21.
- On 24 March 2016, nine nominated members, including three women, were sworn in. As at 5 April, there were 24 women out of a total of 100 members. |
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