1972 Singaporean general election

1972 Singaporean general election

← 1968 2 September 1972 1976 →
All 65 seats in the Parliament of Singapore 33 seats needed for a majority
Registered	812,926
Turnout	760,468 (93.55%) 1.72pp
First party   Leader Lee Kuan Yew Party PAP Leader's seat Tanjong Pagar SMC Last election 86.72%, 58 seats Seats won 65 Seat change 7 Popular vote 524,892 Percentage 70.43% Swing 16.29pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Lee Kuan Yew PAP Prime Minister after election Lee Kuan Yew PAP

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General elections were held in Singapore on 2 September 1972. The result was a fourth victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 65 seats, the second of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 93.5% in the 57 constituencies (which represented 812,926 voters) that were contested,^[1] with PAP candidates elected unopposed in the other eight, which represents 95,456 voters.^[2]

Electoral system[]

The 65 members of Parliament were elected in 65 single-member constituencies, an increase from 58 in the 1968 elections. Like the previous elections, boundaries and constituencies were carved due to development or population; the newly added constituencies were:

Timeline[]

Campaign[]

Unlike the previous elections in 1968, which saw the PAP returning to power after nomination day due to low number of contests (seven out of 58 seats), this election saw contests in all but eight seats. Barisan Sosialis renounced its boycott strategy and attempted to make a comeback, while the Workers' Party saw its rejuvenation with the introduction of its new secretary-general, also lawyer and former district judge, J. B. Jeyaretnam (who would later become the inaugural opposition Member of Parliament in 1981); former leader and ex-Chief Minister David Marshall contemplated standing as an independent, but ultimately did not run due to a stingray wound. PAP candidate and architect Ong Teng Cheong, who made his debut in the election, would later serve as a Deputy Prime Minister and also the first-elected (and fifth) President of Singapore.

Describing the alternative opposition parties as having lost their credibility with swerving political manoeuvres, coupled with Singapore's strong economic progress and successful housing development, the PAP declared that Singaporeans no longer saw need for political diversity, claiming that this led to squabbling that would impede its effective governance.

Results[]

Despite expectations that the PAP would not coast to victory and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew even anticipating that the PAP winning around 45 seats would be a convincing victory, the PAP still managed to capture every seat in Parliament for the second time.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Action Party	524,892	70.43	65	+7
	Workers' Party	90,885	12.20	0	0
	United National Front	55,001	7.38	0	New
	Barisan Sosialis	34,483	4.63	0	New
	People's Front	22,462	3.01	0	New
	Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	10,054	1.35	0	New
	Independents	7,462	1.00	0	0
Total		745,239	100.00	65	+7
Valid votes		745,239	98.00
Invalid/blank votes		15,229	2.00
Total votes		760,468	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		908,382	83.72
Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections[a]

By constituency[]

Constituency	Electorate	Turnout	%	Party		Candidates	Votes	%
Alexandra	24,499	23,446	95.70		People's Action Party		17,965	77.52
					Workers' Party		3,782	16.32
					United National Front		1,427	6.16
Aljunied	19,278	18,251	94.67		People's Action Party	Chin Harn Tong	12,861	71.51
					Workers' Party		4,360	24.25
					United National Front		762	4.24
Anson	8,171	6,899	84.43		People's Action Party		5,027	74.34
					Workers' Party		1,291	19.09
					United National Front		444	6.57
Boon Teck	15,958	15,215	95.34		People's Action Party	Phey Yew Kok	9,947	66.75
					People's Front		4,954	33.25
Bras Basah	8,323	No election			People's Action Party		Uncontested walkover
Bukit Batok	14,563	13,623	93.55		People's Action Party		9,765	73.78
					United National Front		3,471	26.22
Bukit Ho Swee	12,212	11,626	95.20		People's Action Party		7,862	68.77
					Barisan Sosialis		2,209	19.32
					Workers' Party		1,361	11.91
Bukit Merah	13,960	13,265	95.02		People's Action Party		9,044	69.33
					Workers' Party		2,042	15.65
					Barisan Sosialis		1,958	15.02
Bukit Panjang	15,461	14,410	93.20		People's Action Party		9,527	67.65
					Workers' Party		3,496	24.82
					United National Front		1,060	7.53
Bukit Timah	15,476	14,598	94.33		People's Action Party	Chor Yeok Eng	9,475	66.78
					Barisan Sosialis		4,714	33.22
Cairnhill	11,952	10,670	89.28		People's Action Party	Lim Kim San	8,458	80.92
					United National Front		1,994	19.08
Changi	18,297	17,159	93.78		People's Action Party		10,512	62.42
					Workers' Party		4,917	29.20
					United National Front		1,412	8.38
Chua Chu Kang	15,669	14,903	95.11		People's Action Party		9,002	62.36
					Barisan Sosialis		5,434	37.64
Crawford	9,285	8,524	91.80		People's Action Party		6,040	72.60
					Workers' Party		1,565	18.81
					United National Front		714	8.59
Delta	13,781	13,142	95.36		People's Action Party		9,149	70.72
					Workers' Party		2,186	16.90
					Barisan Sosialis		1,602	12.38
Farrer Park	12,707	11,740	92.39		People's Action Party	Lee Chiaw Meng	8,521	73.82
					Workers' Party	Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam	2,668	23.11
					United National Front		354	3.07
Geylang East	16,580	15,375	92.73		People's Action Party		9,692	64.24
					Workers' Party		4,951	32.81
					United National Front		445	2.95
Geylang Serai	13,837	12,801	92.51		People's Action Party		6,711	53.59
					Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura		4,978	39.75
					United National Front		833	6.66
Geylang West	11,653	10,806	92.73		People's Action Party	Yong Nyuk Lin	7,320	69.28
					Workers' Party		3,246	30.72
Havelock	10,849	10,045	92.59		People's Action Party	Hon Sui Sen	7,151	72.65
					Barisan Sosialis	Harbans Singh	2,692	27.35
Henderson	9,431	9,048	95.94		People's Action Party		6,577	74.43
					People's Front		2,260	25.57
Hong Lim	7,486	6,700	89.50		People's Action Party	Lee Khoon Choy	4,835	73.79
					People's Front		1,717	26.21
Jalan Besar	10,310	9,514	92.28		People's Action Party		7,794	83.86
					United National Front		1,500	16.14
Jalan Kayu	14,982	14,148	94.43		People's Action Party		8,283	59.42
					Workers' Party		5,137	36.86
					United National Front		518	3.72
Joo Chiat	15,684	14,248	90.84		People's Action Party	Yeoh Ghim Seng	11,669	83.49
					United National Front		2,307	16.51
Jurong	15,348	14,537	94.72		People's Action Party	Ho Kah Leong	10,741	76.43
					United National Front		3,312	23.57
Kallang	17,232	16,217	94.11		People's Action Party		12,626	79.75
					United National Front		3,205	20.25
Kampong Chai Chee	15,564	14,506	93.20		People's Action Party		7,458	52.39
					Barisan Sosialis		4,188	29.42
					Workers' Party		2,590	18.19
Kampong Glam	7,542	No election			People's Action Party	Sinnathamby Rajaratnam	Uncontested walkover
Kampong Kapor	9,361	8,603	91.90		People's Action Party		6,132	73.15
					United National Front		2,251	26.85
Kampong Kembangan	18,480	17,045	92.23		People's Action Party		9,671	57.53
					Workers' Party		5,451	32.43
					United National Front		1,687	10.04
Kampong Ubi	15,431	14,366	93.10		People's Action Party		8,030	56.86
					Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura		5,076	35.94
					United National Front		1,017	7.20
Katong	16,766	No election			People's Action Party		Uncontested walkover
Kim Keat	14,640	14,053	95.99		People's Action Party	Ong Teng Cheong	10,262	74.00
					Workers' Party		3,022	21.79
					United National Front		583	4.21
Kim Seng	12,893	12,299	95.39		People's Action Party		8,178	67.74
					Workers' Party		3,895	32.26
Kreta Ayer	9,627	No election			People's Action Party	Goh Keng Swee	Uncontested walkover
Kuo Chuan	15,142	14,576	96.26		People's Action Party		10,523	73.69
					Barisan Sosialis		3,757	26.31
Leng Kee	17,158	16,247	94.69		People's Action Party	Ahmad bin Mohamed Mattar	10,929	68.28
					Workers' Party		4,036	25.21
					United National Front		1,042	6.51
MacPherson	15,637	14,952	95.62		People's Action Party	Chua Sian Chin	10,117	68.76
					Workers' Party		4,597	31.24
Moulmein	11,144	10,428	93.58		People's Action Party		7,412	72.43
					Workers' Party		2,822	27.57
Mountbatten	14,396	No election			People's Action Party		Uncontested walkover
Nee Soon	17,061	16,279	95.42		People's Action Party		11,636	73.29
					United National Front		4,240	26.71
Pasir Panjang	13,964	13,104	93.84		People's Action Party	Othman bin Wok	9,209	71.77
					United National Front		3,623	28.23
Paya Lebar	19,102	18,311	95.86		People's Action Party		11,073	61.59
					Workers' Party		5,361	29.82
					Independent		1,545	8.59
Potong Pasir	13,103	11,990	91.51		People's Action Party		7,772	66.22
					Workers' Party		3,391	28.89
					United National Front	Harnek Singh	573	4.89
Punggol	15,303	14,461	94.50		People's Action Party		8,215	58.13
					Independent		5,917	41.87
Queenstown	18,458	17,702	95.90		People's Action Party	Jek Yeun Thong	14,200	81.24
					Workers' Party		2,504	28.89
					United National Front		775	4.43
River Valley	12,189	No election			People's Action Party		Uncontested walkover
Rochore	11,589	10,552	91.05		People's Action Party	Toh Chin Chye	6,218	60.40
					Barisan Sosialis	Lee Siew Choh	4,076	39.60
Sembawang	12,217	11,251	92.09		People's Action Party		8,466	77.36
					United National Front		2,478	22.64
Sepoy Lines	12,308	11,496	93.40		People's Action Party		9,160	81.30
					United National Front		2,107	18.70
Serangoon Gardens	13,836	No election			People's Action Party		Uncontested walkover
Siglap	16,091	14,844	92.25		People's Action Party	Abdul Rahim bin Ishak	11,456	78.63
					Workers' Party		2,529	17.36
					United National Front		584	4.01
Stamford	8,212	7,282	88.68		People's Action Party		5,083	71.77
					Workers' Party		1,999	28.23
Tampines	15,302	14,510	94.82		People's Action Party	Phua Bah Lee	9,049	64.30
					People's Front		5,025	35.70
Tanglin	12,777	No election			People's Action Party	Edmund William Barker	Uncontested walkover
Tanjong Pagar	9,946	9,142	91.92		People's Action Party	Lee Kuan Yew	7,542	84.08
					People's Front		1,428	15.92
Telok Ayer	10,547	9,248	87.68		People's Action Party	Ong Pang Boon	7,612	83.98
					United National Front		1,452	16.02
Telok Blangah	14,624	13,437	91.88		People's Action Party		7,669	57.92
					Workers' Party		4,714	35.60
					United National Front		858	6.48
Thomson	18,702	17,438	93.24		People's Action Party		12,378	72.55
					People's Front		4,683	27.45
Tiong Bahru	17,394	16,108	92.61		People's Action Party		11,991	75.62
					Workers' Party		2,972	18.74
					United National Front		894	5.64
Toa Payoh	15,742	15,020	95.41		People's Action Party		10,884	73.85
					Barisan Sosialis		3,853	26.15
Ulu Pandan	14,485	13,313	91.91		People's Action Party		9,378	71.83
					United National Front		3,678	28.17
Upper Serangoon	16,621	15,594	93.82		People's Action Party		11,862	77.72
					United National Front		3,401	22.28
Whampoa	12,044	11,401	94.66		People's Action Party		8,773	78.55
					People's Front		2,395	21.45
Source: ELD Singapore Elections

Notes[]

References[]