1991 Singaporean general election

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1991 Singaporean general election

← 1988 31 August 1991 1997 →
81 seats to the Parliament of Singapore Only 40 seats contested; 41 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	95.0%
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%
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Goh Chok Tong PAP Prime Minister after election Goh Chok Tong PAP

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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.

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.

During the time where Ong Teng Cheong and Lee Hsien Loong were suffering from cancer, Goh went to call an by-election for his constituency (Marine Parade GRC), citing its best chances of winning for "political self-renewal" to get people of "ministerial calibre" to join the government under PAP, and paving the chance for J. B. Jeyaretnam to participate in the by-election after his ban expiring that year.

Timeline[]

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.

New and retiring candidates[]

Results[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Action Party	477,760	60.97	77	–3
	Workers' Party	112,010	14.29	1	+1
	Singapore Democratic Party	93,856	11.98	3	+2
	National Solidarity Party	57,306	7.31	0	0
	Singapore Justice Party	15,222	1.94	0	0
	Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	12,862	1.64	0	0
	Independents	14,596	1.86	0	0
Total		783,612	100.00	81	0
Valid votes		783,612	97.27
Invalid/blank votes		21,961	2.73
Total votes		805,573	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,692,384	47.60
Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections[a]

By constituency[]

Constituency	Seats	Electorate	Party	Candidates	Votes	%
Aljunied GRC	4	94,490	People's Action Party	Chin Harn Tong Ker Sin Tze George Yeo	Uncontested walkover
Ang Mo Kio GRC	4	74,004	People's Action Party	Lee Hsien Loong	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 S. Jayakumar Tan Soo Khoon	49,109	61.98 / 100
			Workers' Party		30,121	38.02 / 100
Boon Lay SMC	1	15,007	People's Action Party		10,106	73.27 / 100
			Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura		3,686	26.73 / 100
Braddell Heights SMC	1	27,444	People's Action Party		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 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		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		6,878	61.94 / 100
			Workers' Party		4,046	36.43 / 100
			Independent	(Loses $6,000 deposit)	181	1.63 / 100
Bukit Timah SMC	1	24,512	People's Action Party		16,080	72.64 / 100
			Workers' Party	Zeng Guoyuan	5,683	25.68 / 100
			Independent	(Loses $6,000 deposit)	371	1.68 / 100
Buona Vista SMC	1	14,596	People's Action Party		10,481	79.42 / 100
			Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura		2,716	20.58 / 100
Changi SMC	1	24,886	People's Action Party		12,292	53.00 / 100
			Workers' Party		10,901	47.00 / 100
Cheng San GRC	4	92,979	People's Action Party	Lee Yock Suan	54,963	64.05 / 100
			National Solidarity Party		30,849	35.95 / 100
Chua Chu Kang SMC	1	22,797	People's Action Party		14,489	68.44 / 100
			Independent		5,071	23.95 / 100
			Independent	(Loses $6,000 deposit)	1,611	7.61 / 100
Eunos GRC	4	75,723	People's Action Party	Charles Chong You Fook Sidek B Saniff Tay Eng Soon	45,833	52.38 / 100
			Workers' Party	Lee Siew Choh Mohamed Jufrie Mahmood	41,673	47.62 / 100
Hong Kah GRC	4	64,712	People's Action Party	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		8,965	30.60 / 100
			Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	(Loses $6,000 deposit)	1,489	5.08 / 100
Kampong Glam GRC	4	73,317	People's Action Party	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		13,331	76.57 / 100
			Independent		4,080	23.43 / 100
Marine Parade GRC	4	74,032	People's Action Party	Goh Chok Tong Matthias Yao Chih	51,685	77.25 / 100
			Singapore Justice Party		15,222	22.75 / 100
Mountbatten SMC	1	15,497	People's Action Party		11,029	77.95 / 100
			Independent		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		13,719	52.76 / 100
			Singapore Democratic Party		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		5,486	30.36 / 100
Sembawang GRC	4	117,951	People's Action Party	Ho Peng Kee K Shanmugam Tony Tan Keng Yam	Uncontested walkover
Tampines GRC	4	69,801	People's Action Party	Chng Hee Kok Mah Bow Tan Aline Wong	38,844	59.48 / 100
			National Solidarity Party		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		4,022	30.25 / 100
			Independent	(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	Uncontested walkover
Thomson GRC	4	68,294	People's Action Party	Wong Kan Seng	Uncontested walkover
Toa Payoh GRC	4	63,591	People's Action Party	Davinder Singh 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		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		7,762	43.84 / 100
Source: ELD

Notes[]

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