ELECTIONS HELD IN 1988
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Chamber: | |
Parliament | |
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3 September 1988 | |
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Elections were held for all the members of Parliament following the premature dissolution of this body on 17 August 1988. General elections had previously taken place on 22 December 1984. | |
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The Parliament was dissolved by the President of the Republic on 17 August 1988 – some 15 months ahead of schedule. On Nomination Day (24 August), the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) candidates were returned unopposed in two single-member constituencies and three GRCs, a total of 11 seats. The remaining 70 seats were contested by 145 candidates from eight political parties and four independents. There were three-cornered contests in five single-member constituencies and straight fights for the remaining seats.
During the lively nine-day campaign, the PAP campaigned on the slogan of "More Good Years", calling on Singaporeans to judge it by its positive record while governing, especially in the economic sector. There were two outstanding issues, namely the establishment of town councils in each constituency or group of constituencies where the elected MPs would be put in charge, and the proposal to institute an elected post of President of the Republic to oversee the country's monetary reserves and approve key appointments in the Civil Service and statutory boards. The seven opposition parties, fielding a record number of candidates, also focused on certain questions such as the alleged abuse of the Internal Security Act by the PAP, the PAP's population policies and the increased cost of medical care in the country. On polling day, the PAP gained a slightly smaller percentage of the popular vote than in 1984 but nevertheless won 69 seats, which brought its overall total to 80; among these were a number of newcomers to Parliament. One seat went to the Singapore Democratic Party. Two defeated candidates of the Workers' Party were declared elected as non-constituency members. On 10 September, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in power since independence in 1965, announced the membership of his Cabinet. |
STATISTICS
Round no 1 (3 September 1988): Elections results* | |
Number of registered electors | 1,449,838 |
Voters | 1,373,064 (94.7%) |
Blank or invalid ballot papers | 31,209 |
Valid votes | 1,342,435 |
Comments: | |
* In the 40 single-member constituencies and 10 (3-member) group representation constituencies where polling took place. |
Round no 1: Distribution of votes | |||
Political Group | Candidates | Votes | %* |
People's Action Party (PAP) | 70 | 848,029 | 61.76 |
Workers' Party (WP) | 32 | 224,473 | 37.76 |
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) | 18 | 158,341 | 38.72 |
National Solidarity Party (NSP) | 8 | 50,432 | 33.69 |
United People's Front (UPF) | 5 | 17,282 | 17.46 |
Pertubohan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS) (Singapore Malay National Organisation) | 4 | 13,526 | 16.22 |
Singapore Justice Party (SJP) | 3 | 14,660 | 25.37 |
Angkatan Islam (AIS) (Islamic Movement) | 1 | 280 | 1.48 |
Independents | 4 | 15,412 | 21.32 |
Comments: | |
* Percentage of total votes cast for each party in the constituencies where it contested seats. |
Round no 1: Distribution of seats | |||
Political Group | Total | ||
People's Action Party (PAP) | 69* | ||
Workers' Party (WP) | 0 | ||
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) | 1 | ||
National Solidarity Party (NSP) | 0 | ||
United People's Front (UPF) | 0 | ||
Pertubohan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS) (Singapore Malay National Organisation) | 0 | ||
Singapore Justice Party (SJP) | 0 | ||
Angkatan Islam (AIS) (Islamic Movement) | 0 | ||
Independents | 0 |
Comments: | |
* Excluding 11 uncontested seats. |
Distribution of seats according to sex*: | |
Men: | 79 |
Women: | 4 |
Distribution of seats according to age*: | ||
20-29 years | 1 | |
30-39 years | 19 | |
40-49 years | 46 | |
50-59 years | 13 | |
60-69 years | 3 | |
70-79 years | 1 | |
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University professors and lecturers | 13 | |
Lawyers | 7 | |
Doctors | 5 | |
Journalists | 4 | |
Architects | 2 | |
Accountants | 1 | |
Others (Trade unionists, businessmen, teachers, politicians, former civil servants, etc.) | 51 |
Comments: | |
* Including two non-constituency members. |
Copyright © 1988 Inter-Parliamentary Union