General elections were held in Singapore on 31 August 1991. 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.
Background[]
This was Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's first election as leader of the PAP after Lee Kuan Yew stepped down in 1990. PM Goh decided to call a snap election merely three years after the last GE, setting Parliament's shortest term ever, to court a fresh mandate. However, it lost an unprecedented four seats, the biggest number since the 1963 GE, and its share of votes fell for the third consecutive time since 1984. The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) added two more spoils to the seat retained successfully by leader Chiam See Tong, becoming the main opposition party in Parliament. Eight out of nine SDP candidates came in among the top ten opposition candidates. The Workers' Party of Singapore (WP) made its second in-road into the legislature with the victory of its organising secretary Low Thia Khiang, who would years later become WP secretary-general and leader.
At a post-election press conference on the night of 31 August, PM Goh glumly attributed the loss to his "open and consultative style of government" and pledged to re-evaluate his style. Sizes of Group Representation Constituencies were increased from three to four seats each. Since the introduction of the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament scheme in 1984, this was the first GE with no NCMP seats offered as the four opposition seats exceeded the minimum of three NCMP seats alloted. Therefore, the narrow defeat of WP's Eunos GRC team, helmed by Dr Lee Siew Choh again, did not see to Dr Lee's return as NCMP. This was his 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.
Changes to seats[]
Existing GRCs[]
Another group of changes were necessary as it increased from 3 to 4.
- Paya Lebar division was merged into Aljunied GRC.
- Fengshan and Siglap divisions were merged into Bedok GRC.
- Punggol division was merged into Cheng San GRC.
- MacPherson division was merged into Marine Parade GRC.
Constituencies[]
| Constituency | Party | Voters |
|---|---|---|
| Aljunied | People's Action Party | 20,432 |
| Ang Mo Kio GRC (Ang Mo Kio, Kebun Baru, Teck Ghee, Yio Chu Kang) | People's Action Party | 74,004 |
| Ayer Rajah | People's Action Party | 21,887 |
| Bedok GRC (Bedok, Fengshan, Kampong Chai Chee, Siglap) | People's Action Party | 86,246 |
| Bishan | People's Action Party | 18,988 |
| Boon Lay | People's Action Party | 15,007 |
| Braddell Heights | People's Action Party | 27,444 |
| Brickworks GRC (Brickworks, Clementi, West Coast, Queenstown) | People's Action Party | 101,440 |
| Bukit Batok | People's Action Party | 24,908 |
| Bukit Gombak | Singapore Democratic Party | 24,961 |
| Bukit Merah | People's Action Party | 11,998 |
| Bukit Timah | People's Action Party | 24,512 |
| Buona Vista | People's Action Party | 14,596 |
| Changi | People's Action Party | 24,886 |
| Cheng San GRC (Cheng San, Chong Boon, Jalan Kayu, Punggol) | People's Action Party | 92,979 |
| Choa Chu Kang | People's Action Party | 22,797 |
| Eunos GRC (Eunos, Kampong Kembangan, Kaki Bukit, Tampines North) | People's Action Party | 95,574 |
| Hong Kah East | People's Action Party | 22,303 |
| Hong Kah North | People's Action Party | 20,001 |
| Hong Kah West | People's Action Party | 22,408 |
| Hougang | Workers' Party | 21,476 |
| Jalan Besar GRC (Jalan Besar, Kolam Ayer, Geylang West, Kallang) | People's Action Party | 82,615 |
| Jurong | People's Action Party | 31,426 |
| Kampong Glam GRC (Kampong Glam, Kim Seng, Cairnhill, Moulmein) | People's Action Party | 73,317 |
| Kampong Ubi | People's Action Party | 22,620 |
| Kreta Ayer | People's Action Party | 17,310 |
| Leng Kee | People's Action Party | 19,027 |
| Marine Parade GRC (Marine Parade, Geylang Serai, Joo Chiat, MacPherson) | People's Action Party | 74,032 |
| Mountbatten | People's Action Party | 15,497 |
| Nee Soon Central | Singapore Democratic Party | 26,806 |
| Nee Soon South | People's Action Party | 27,722 |
| Paya Lebar | People's Action Party | 20,432 |
| Potong Pasir | Singapore Democratic Party | 19,263 |
| Sembawang GRC (Sembawang, Nee Soon East, Chong Pang, Bukit Panjang) | People's Action Party | 117,951 |
| Serangoon Gardens | People's Action Party | 26,003 |
| Tampines GRC (Changkat, Tampines East, Tampines West, Changkat South) | People's Action Party | 69,801 |
| Tanglin | People's Action Party | 16,801 |
| Tanjong Pagar GRC (Tanjong Pagar, Tiong Bahru, Radin Mas, Telok Blangah) | People's Action Party | 86,944 |
| Thomson | People's Action Party | 23,303 |
| Toa Payoh GRC (Kim Keat, Kuo Chuan, Boon Teck, Toa Payoh) | People's Action Party | 63,591 |
| Ulu Pandan | People's Action Party | 22,299 |
| Yuhua | People's Action Party | 18,797 |
New GRCs[]
- Ang Mo Kio GRC was formed from Ang Mo Kio SMC, Teck Ghee SMC, Yio Chu Kang SMC and Kebun Baru SMC.
- Kampong Glam GRC
- Tanjong Pagar GRC was formed from Tanjong Pagar SMC, Telok Blangah SMC, and some from Tiong Bahru GRC.
- Thomson GRC
Results[]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Action Party | 477,760 | 61.0 | 77 | -3 |
| Workers' Party | 112,010 | 14.3 | 1 | +1 |
| Singapore Democratic Party | 93,856 | 12.0 | 3 | +2 |
| National Solidarity Party | 57,306 | 7.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Singapore Justice Party | 15,222 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Singapore Malay National Organisation | 12,862 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Independents | 14,596 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 21,961 | - | - | - |
| Total | 805,573 | 100 | 81 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen et al. | ||||
References[]
- ↑ Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p255 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
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