Singapore is a parliamentary representative democratic republic in which the president of Singapore is the head of state, the prime minister of Singapore is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet from the parliament, and to a lesser extent, the president. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the government and is accountable to Parliament. There are three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive and judiciary abiding by the Westminster system. Singapore has been described as being a de facto one-party state.
The Workers' Party is a major social democratic political party in Singapore and one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and the opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP). The WP sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is currently the largest and oldest opposition party in Parliament, having contested every parliamentary election since 1959 against the dominant PAP. Since the 1991 general election, the WP has been the only political party, other than the PAP, with elected Members of Parliament (MPs).
The Singapore Democratic Alliance is an opposition political coalition between Singapore Justice Party (SJP), Singapore Malay National Organization (PKMS), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), National Solidarity Party (NSP) and Singapore People's Party (SPP) in 2001. As of 2023, only SJP and PKMS are in the alliance.
The Singapore Democratic Party is a social liberal political party in Singapore. Having peaked at three seats after the 1991 general election, the party currently has no seats in Parliament since 1997.
Chiam See Tong is a Singaporean retired politician, lawyer, secretary-General of SDP between 1980 and 1993, secretary-General of SPP between 2011 and 2019 and the chairman of SDA between 2001 and 2011 and de facto Leader of the Opposition between 1986 and 1993 and between 1997 and 2006. A former member of Singapore People's Party (SPP), Chiam was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency (SMC) and served between 1984 and 2011.
Constituencies in Singapore are electoral divisions which may be represented by single or multiple seats in the Parliament of Singapore. Constituencies are classified as either Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) or Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). SMCs are single-seat constituencies but GRCs have between four and five seats in Parliament.
General elections were held in Singapore on 21 September 1963, five days after Singapore became part of Malaysia. Voters elected all 51 members of the Legislative Assembly. The elections were the only ones to date with no boundary changes to any existing constituencies prior to the elections. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party (PAP), which won 37 of the 51 seats, while the majority of the remaining seats were won by Barisan Sosialis (BS).
General elections were held in Singapore on 3 November 2001. President S.R. Nathan dissolved parliament on 18 October 2001 on the advice of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won 82 of the 84 elected seats in Parliament in a landslide victory. Due to the large number (55) of uncontested seats, only 675,306 of the 2,036,923 eligible voters (33%) had an opportunity to vote. As of the recent election in 2020, this was the most recent, and fourth overall election PAP returned to power on nomination day with a majority of uncontested walkovers.
General elections were held in Singapore on 6 May 2006. President S.R. Nathan dissolved parliament on 20 April 2006 on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong three weeks before the election. The People's Action Party (PAP) won 66.6% of the overall votes and gained 82 out of 84 seats. The PAP held the office of Prime Minister for a twelfth consecutive term. The general election was held under the first-past-the-post system. On Nomination Day, the PAP gained 37 seats in divisions which were uncontested by other parties. The main election issues included employment, cost of living, housing, transport, education, the need for an effective opposition voice in parliament, and the quality of the candidates.
General elections were held in Singapore on 2 January 1997. President Ong Teng Cheong dissolved parliament on 16 December 1996 on the advice of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. The results were released in the late evening that day and the ruling People's Action Party won a total of 81 out of 83 seats as well as a tenth consecutive term in office under the then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Other major political parties contesting in the election were the Workers' Party, Singapore Democratic Party, National Solidarity Party, Singapore People's Party and the Democratic Progressive Party.
General elections were held in Singapore on 7 May 2011. President S. R. Nathan dissolved parliament on 19 April 2011 on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Voting is mandatory in Singapore and is based on the first-past-the-post system. Elections are conducted by the Elections Department, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Office. Nomination day was held on 27 April 2011, and for the second election in a row, the PAP did not return to government on nomination day, but it did return to government on polling day. This election also marked the first and the only three-cornered fight since 2001 in Punggol East SMC before it increased to four-cornered fight on a by-election held two years later.
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 that were contested, with PAP candidates elected unopposed in the other eight, which represents 95,456 voters.
General elections were held in Singapore on 23 December 1980. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 75 seats, the last of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 95%, although this figure represents the turnout in the 38 constituencies to be contested, with PAP candidates earning walkovers in the other 37. 685,141 voters out of the total electorate of 1,290,426 went to vote on the elections.
General elections were held in Singapore on 22 December 1984. President Devan Nair dissolved parliament on 4 December 1984 on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 77 of the 79 seats, marking the first time since 1963 that at least one opposition candidate was elected to parliament in a general election, although the first presence of an opposition MP was in the 1981 Anson by-election.
General elections were held in Singapore on 3 September 1988. President Wee Kim Wee dissolved parliament on 17 August 1988 on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 80 of the 81 seats. This was the last time Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew led the PAP in an election.
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 by-elections were held on 10 February for seven constituencies, with the nomination day held on 31 January. With 80,075 registered voters, the 1979 by-elections remain the largest by-election to have ever taken place in Singapore.
By-elections in Singapore are elections held to fill seats in the Parliament of Singapore that fall vacant in between general elections, known as casual vacancies. In the past, the Government of Singapore took the position that the Prime Minister had discretion whether or not a by-election should be called to fill a casual vacancy in a Single Member Constituency, and could leave a parliamentary seat unfilled until the next general election. However, in the case of Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v. Attorney-General (2013), which arose from a vacancy in Hougang Single Member Constituency, the Court of Appeal held that the Constitution of Singapore obliges the Prime Minister to call a by-election unless a general election is going to be held in the near future. However, a by-election need only be called within a reasonable time, and the Prime Minister has the discretion to determine when it should be held.
General elections were held in Singapore on Friday, 11 September 2015 to elect 89 members of Parliament. The outgoing Parliament had been dissolved and the general election called by President Tony Tan on 25 August, on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The elections were for the 13th Parliament since independence in 1965, using the first-past-the-post electoral system.
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