1966 Singaporean by-elections

Last updated

1966 Singapore by-elections
Flag of Singapore.svg
←  1965
  • 18 January 1966 (Bukit Merah)
  • 1 March 1966 (3 constituencies) (nomination)
  • 2 November 1966 (3 constituencies) (nomination)
 1967  →
7 seats to the Parliament of Singapore
Registered13,209
Turnout11,346 (85.90%) Decrease2.svg 10.25%
 First party
  Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore Making a Toast at a State Dinner Held in His Honor, 1975.jpg
Leader Lee Kuan Yew
Party PAP
Seats won7
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 6
Popular vote9,082
Percentage82.94%
SwingIncrease2.svg 39.14%
MPs before election
  • Lim Huan Boon
  • Cheo Cheng Thun
  • S. Thentayatha Bani
  • Kow Kee Seng
  • Lee Tee Tong
  • Fong Kim Heng
  • Chia Thye Poh

Elected MPs

PAP

Background

There were 3 By-elections held within 1966, with the first triggered just 4 months the expulsion from Malaysia on 8 December 1965. Lim Huan Boon from Barisan Sosialis (BS), who started the trigger of the BS boycott of Parliament because they claimed that Singapore's independence was "phony" on the grounds that the separation matter was not discussed in the legislature and announced that all of its MPs would resign their seats and take their struggle for democracy onto the streets. Hence, with the exception of Dr Fong Kim Heng from People's Action Party who resigned his seat on November, 6 other vacant constituencies are caused by the mass resignation from the members of BS legislators that are divided into 3 phases that triggers 3 different by-elections in the year, namely, January, March and November. The final phase of the resignation by BS legislators was made in 1967 January and hence shortly 3 months after the third by election in 1966 November, a 1967 by election was held, which is the last before 1968 general elections.

Contents

First 1966 By Election (January)

The nomination day was set at 8 January 1966 while the polling day was held 10 days later as the result of the resignation of Lim Huan Boon which translates into the vacation of Bukit Merah constituency.

Second 1966 By Election (March)

Shortly after the first in January, another 3 BS members, namely S. T. Bani, Chio Cheng Thun and Kow Kee Seng have resigned their seats as a part to boycott the parliament. Hence, it further translates into the vacant of Chua Chu Kang, Crawford and Paya Lebar constituency which sets the nomination day on 1 March 1966. However, all 3 constituencies went uncontested and returned to PAP without conducting a poll.

Third 1966 By Election (November)

BS members Chia Thye Poh and Lee Tee Tong resigned their seats. Also People's Action Party member, Dr Fong Kim Heng had resigned his seat on the grounds of poor health. With three resignations taking place, it vacates three seats, namely Bukit Timah, Joo Chiat and Jurong constituencies. Similar to the previous by election, all three seats were announced as walkovers to the People's Action Party on nomination day, 2 November 1966.

Election deposit

All three By Elections' deposit were set at $500.

Aftermath of 1966 By Election

The aftermath of the boycott of the Parliament sparked off mass arrests under the Internal Security Act (ISA), with notable people includes Chia Thye Poh who was detained under this Act for 22 years without any trial which became the world's second-longest incarcerated political prisoner. It is also meant the downturn of the opposition parties in Singapore as since then, Barisan Sosialis had lost all their credibility and never returned to the parliament by an elected Member of Parliament while the People's Action Party had been winning all the parliamentary seats in the General elections and By elections until 15 years later on the famous 1981 Anson By Election.

Results

Bukit Merah by-election (18 January)

By-election 18 January 1966: Bukit Merah [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
PAP Lim Guan Hoo 9,082 82.94 N/A
IndependentMadai Puthan Damodaran Nair1,86817.06N/A
Majority7,21465.88Increase2.svg62.00
Registered electors 13,489Increase2.svg10.34
Turnout 10,95081.18Decrease2.svg9.8
PAP gain from BS Swing N/A

By-elections of 1 March 1966

By-election 1 March 1966: Chua Chu Kang [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
PAP Tang See Chim Unopposed
Registered electors 9,918
PAP gain from BS
By-election 1 March 1966: Crawford [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
PAP Ramaswamy Sellappa Unopposed
Registered electors 10,450
PAP gain from BS
By-election 1 March 1966: Paya Lebar [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
PAP Tay Boon Too Unopposed
Registered electors 16,205
PAP gain from BS

By-elections of 2 November 1966

By-election 2 November 1966: Bukit Timah [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
PAP Chor Yeok Eng Unopposed
Registered electors 14,854
PAP gain from BS
By-election 2 November 1966: Joo Chiat [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
PAP Yeoh Ghim Seng Unopposed
Registered electors 15,760
PAP hold
By-election 2 November 1966: Jurong [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
PAP Ho Kah Leong Unopposed
Registered electors 8,757
PAP gain from BS

Related Research Articles

Lee Siew Choh

Lee Siew Choh was a Singaporean politician and medical doctor. Initially a member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he became a leader of the breakaway faction of Barisan Sosialis (BS) in 1961. After the BS merged with the Workers' Party (WP) in 1988, Lee stood as a WP candidate in the 1988 election and became Singapore's first Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) due to his best performance among the opposition candidates. He served as the NCMP from September 1988 to August 1991.

Barisan Sosialis Political party in Singapore

Barisan Sosialis is a defunct political party in Singapore. It was formed on 29 July 1961 and officially registered on 13 August 1961 by left-wing members of the People's Action Party (PAP) who had been expelled from the PAP. The prominent founding members of the Barisan were Dr Lee Siew Choh and Lim Chin Siong. It became the biggest opposition party in Singapore in the 1960s and the 1980s.

Chia Thye Poh is a Singaporean former political prisoner. Detained under the Internal Security Act of Singapore for allegedly conducting pro-communist activities against the government, he was imprisoned for 23 years without charge or trial and subsequently placed under conditions of house arrest for another nine years – in which he was first confined to the island of Sentosa and then subject to restrictions on his place of abode, employment, travel, and exercise of political rights.

1963 Singaporean general election General elections held in Singapore

General elections were held in Singapore on 21 September 1963. The elections saw the Malaysian ruling party, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), backed with Singapore Alliance Party (SAP) in an attempt to oust the People's Action Party (PAP), after violating previous agreement not to do so and a highlight in the relations between UMNO and the PAP. However, the result was a victory for the PAP, which won 37 of the 51 seats in the Singapore Legislative Assembly. The 1963 election was the only election to date with no boundary changes to any of the 51 existing constituencies.

Ling How Doong Singaporean politician and lawyer

Ling How Doong was a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bukit Gombak from 31 August 1991 to 16 December 1996.

Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency

Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency composed of several city suburbs surrounding the Central Area of Singapore. It is named after Jalan Besar, a street in Singapore that forms this GRC's centrepiece. The street itself is within the Kallang planning area, Kallang itself being part of this GRC. This GRC encompasses several heritage areas, including Little India, Desker Road, Kolam Ayer and Crawford in the North. Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng itself includes the Singapore River, Chinatown and Bukit Ho Swee. There are four wards in the GRC: Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer, Whampoa and lastly Kampong Glam. It is being anchored by Josephine Teo and Heng Chee How.

Hougang Single Member Constituency Electoral division in Singapore

The Hougang Single Member Constituency is a Single Member Constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. Its current MP is Dennis Tan Lip Fong.

1968 Singaporean general election 1968 parliamentary general election in Singapore

General elections were held in Singapore on 13 April 1968, its first as a sovereign city-state.

Socialist Front (Singapore, 2010) Opposition political party in Singapore

The Socialist Front is a political party in Singapore. It was formed in 2010 by several former Reform Party members. The party has the objective of establishing a socialist state in Singapore should it be elected to government. The current Socialist Front had no affiliation with the similarly named Barisan Sosialis party which existed from 1961 to 1988.

Cheo Chai Chen is a Singaporean former politician and businessman. He won the constituency of Nee Soon Central and served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency from 1991 to 1997, when he was a member of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).

Merely a month before Singapore's separation from Malaysia and independence, UPP chief and sole Assembly Member Ong Eng Guan resigned his seat and retired from politics, precipitating a by-election. The by-election was held on 10 July 1965 with the nomination day held on 30 June 1965.

1967 Singaporean by-elections

The Singaporean by-election of 1967 was triggered by the final batch of mass resignations from Barisan Sosialis (BS)'s elected Members of Parliament who heeded to Lim Huan Boon's call on the grounds that Singapore's independence was "phony" because no discussion of Singapore's separation matter was made in the legislature. The final walkout of BS members were Koo Young, Ms Loh Miaw Gong, Ong Lian Teng, Poh Ber Liak and Tan Cheng Tong and translates into five vacant constituencies namely, Bukit Panjang, Havelock, Jalan Kayu, Tampines and Thomson. As a result, the by election was held on 7 March 1967 with the nomination day set on 24 February 1967. Despite 5 vacant constituency are up for grabs, only Thomson was contested by 2 independent candidates on top of another candidate from the People's Action Party (PAP) and the PAP wins the other four constituencies by walkover.

Heng Chee How is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence since 2018. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been a Member of Parliament of the 14th Parliament of Singapore representing the Whampoa ward of Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2001.

Bukit Timah Single Member Constituency is a former single-member constituency (SMC) in Bukit Timah, Singapore. The name - Bukit Timah still exists since the independence.

Bukit Gombak Single Member Constituency is a defunct Single Member Constituency in the western area in Singapore. The seat consisted of Bukit Gombak New Town with is made up of Bukit Gombak MRT station and a few private housing estates such as the Hillview area. It was formed in 1988 which was crafted by 1984's Bukit Batok SMC. In the first election Dr Seet Ai Mee won against Ling How Doong on her first stint in politics, and was defeated 3 years later in 1991.

Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency is a defunct five-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. It consists of largely Bukit Timah areas, and including parts of Jurong, Clementi and Bukit Batok areas as well. The GRC has only appeared once in 1997 which the ruling party, People's Action Party received a walkover on the nomination day, which is similar to Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC's fate.

Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency Electoral ward in Singapore

Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency (SMC) is a constituency covering a portion of Bukit Batok in Singapore. It existed from 1972 to 1997, when it was merged with Bukit Timah GRC. It was carved out as an SMC again ahead of the 2015 general elections. It absorbed part of Bukit Panjang, Bukit Timah & Choa Chu Kang constituencies in 1972. The incumbent MP is Murali Pillai of People's Action Party (PAP).

2020 Singaporean general election 2020 parliamentary general election in Singapore

General elections were held in Singapore on Friday, 10 July 2020 to elect 93 members to the Parliament of Singapore across 31 constituencies. Parliament was dissolved and the general election called by President Halimah Yacob on 23 June, on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It elected members of parliament to the 14th Parliament of Singapore since Singapore's independence in 1965, using the first-past-the-post electoral system. Voting was mandatory for all Singaporeans who were aged 21 or above as of 1 March 2020.

Ho Kah Leong is a former Singaporean politician and was a member of the People's Action Party (PAP). He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong Single Member Constituency (SMC) from 1966 to 1997. After retirement from politics in December 1996, he became the principal of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) from 1997 to 2003, and Executive director of NAFA International Pte Ltd from 2003 to 2005.

Tang Guan Seng is a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was a Member of the Parliament representing Khe Bong Single Member Constituency (SMC) from 1984 to 1988, Hougang SMC from 1988 to 1991 and Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) from 1997 to 2001.

References

  1. ↑ "ELD | 1966 Parliamentary By-election Result". eld.gov.sg.
  2. 1 2 3 "ELD | 1966 Parliamentary By-election Results". eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "ELD | 1966 Parliamentary By-election Results". eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.