1980 Singaporean general election

Last updated
1980 Singaporean general election
Flag of Singapore.svg
  1976 23 December 1980 1984  

All 75 seats in Parliament
38 seats needed for a majority
Registered685,141
Turnout95.50% (Increase2.svg 0.42pp)
 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
Last election74.09%, 69 seats
Seats won75
Seat changeIncrease2.svg6
Popular vote494,268
Percentage77.66%
SwingIncrease2.svg 3.57pp

Singaporean election 1980 map.png
Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Lee Kuan Yew
PAP

Prime Minister after election

Lee Kuan Yew
PAP

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, [1] 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.

Contents

Background

Prior to this election, a series of by-elections were held in 1977 and 1979 after two and seven MPs, respectively, were vacated; however, the ruling PAP won every seat, allowing nine new candidates, which include Devan Nair and Tony Tan (both would later go on to become Presidents of Singapore) to enter Parliament. During the election, PAP also introduced a few other prominent members, such as future ministers Lee Yock Suan and S. Jayakumar, as well as a backbencher (and later Progress Singapore Party secretary-general and a 2011 presidential candidate) Tan Cheng Bock.

On 2 April the following year, then-President of National Trades Union Congress, Phey Yew Kok, resigned his Boon Teck seat after Phey was initially charged from a funding fraud of trade union funds, and left Singapore to avoid a bail; however, Lee chose not to call a by-election in his place since the current Parliament term was due to end.

Timeline

DateEvent
5 DecemberDissolution of 4th Parliament
13 DecemberNomination Day
23 DecemberPolling Day
3 February 1981Opening of 5th Parliament

Campaign

The school streaming system, as well as Phey's fraud, became highlights of the campaign for the election.

Independent candidate Chiam See Tong, who made his political debut in the previous election, founded Singapore Democratic Party on 8 September, and would later go on to win Potong Pasir Constituency on the 1984 election on his third attempt (his first attempt was in the by-election last year) after the retirement of incumbent and cabinet minister Howe Yoon Chong.

A total of 43 opposition candidates went on to contest in 38 constituencies, which was nearly half of the total, with United People's Front representing the most number of candidates at 14. This was the first election (of the only three in history, with the other being 2006 and 2011) none of the candidates ran as Independents.

Constituencies

Similar to previous elections, constituencies were either dissolved or created due to population. The constituencies which saw changes were: [2] [3]

ConstituencyChanges
New Constituencies
Ayer Rajah
Clementi
West Coast
Carved from Bukit Timah
Cheng San
Chong Boon
Carved from Serangoon Gardens
Kaki Bukit Carved from Kampong Chai Chee
Kebun Baru
Yio Chu Kang
Carved from Ang Mo Kio
Tanah Merah Carved from Bedok and Changi
Defunct Constituencies
Farrer Park Ward was absorbed to Moulmein and Cairnhill
Geylang East Ward was absorbed to Geylang Serai
Upper Serangoon Ward was absorbed to Serangoon Gardens and Paya Lebar

Results

Singapore Parliament 1979.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
People's Action Party 494,26877.6675+6
Workers' Party 39,5906.2200
United People's Front28,5864.4900
Singapore United Front 27,5224.3200
Barisan Sosialis 16,4882.5900
Singapore Malay National Organisation 13,4352.1100
Singapore Democratic Party 11,2921.770New
Singapore Justice Party 5,2710.8300
Total636,452100.0075+6
Valid votes636,45297.27
Invalid/blank votes17,8432.73
Total votes654,295100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,290,42695.50
Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections [lower-alpha 1]

By constituency

ConstituencyElectoratePartyCandidateVotes%
Alexandra 18,163 People's Action Party Tan Soo Khoon Unopposed
Aljunied 17,017 People's Action Party Chin Harn Tong 13,31384.59
United FrontSim Peng Kim2,42515.41
Ang Mo Kio 22,542 People's Action Party Yeo Toon Chia17,43681.99
United People's FrontAng Bee Lian3,83018.01
Anson 15,077 People's Action Party Devan Nair 11,56484.10
United People's FrontJohn Santhirasekaran P. M. Thevar2,18715.90
Ayer Rajah 15,787 People's Action Party Tan Cheng Bock 12,40083.39
Singapore Justice Party Suib bin Abdul Rahman2,47016.61
Bedok 20,852 People's Action Party S. Jayakumar 14,69175.03
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Abdul Rahman bin Mohamed Zin3,52718.01
United People's FrontThomas Anthony Tay1,3626.96
Boon Lay 21,317 People's Action Party Goh Chee Wee15,00574.19
United FrontTan Chee Kien5,22025.81
Boon Teck 18,705 People's Action Party Liew Kok Pun11,91768.14
Barisan Sosialis Lee Siew Choh 5,57131.86
Braddell Heights 14,519 People's Action Party Lee Khoon Choy Unopposed
Brickworks 13,054 People's Action Party Ahmad Mattar Unopposed
Bukit Batok 18,275 People's Action Party Chai Chong YiiUnopposed
Bukit Ho Swee 12,435 People's Action Party Seah Mui KokUnopposed
Bukit Merah 19,046 People's Action Party Lim Chee OnnUnopposed
Bukit Panjang 23,305 People's Action Party Lee Yiok Seng18,51087.03
United People's FrontMohamed Sani bin Ahmad2,75912.97
Bukit Timah 15,334 People's Action Party Chor Yeok Eng Unopposed
Buona Vista 17,287 People's Action Party Ang Kok PengUnopposed
Cairnhill 18,133 People's Action Party Wong Kwei Cheong11,44471.79
Singapore Democratic Party Fok Tai Loy4,49828.21
Changi 25,464 People's Action Party Teo Chong TeeUnopposed
Cheng San 17,044 People's Action Party Lee Yock Suan 12,31275.89
Workers' Party Choong Chee Kwong3,91124.11
Chong Boon 13,877 People's Action Party Rajagopal Sitaram Chandra DasUnopposed
Chua Chu Kang 22,363 People's Action Party Tang See ChimUnopposed
Clementi 15,129 People's Action Party Bernard Chen Tien Lap12,16285.42
United People's FrontSingh Munjeet2,07614.58
Delta 14,830 People's Action Party Yeo Choo KokUnopposed
Geylang Serai 19,962 People's Action Party Othman bin Haron Eusofe13,19571.99
United FrontSeow Khee Leng5,13428.01
Geylang West 22,298 People's Action Party Teh Cheang Wan 17,58585.45
United People's FrontLong bin Abdullah2,99414.55
Havelock 12,524 People's Action Party Hon Sui Sen Unopposed
Henderson 18,353 People's Action Party Lai Tha Chai13,36377.42
Workers' Party Lim Kang Chew3,89722.58
Jalan Besar 15,058 People's Action Party Chan Chee SengUnopposed
Jalan Kayu 23,766 People's Action Party Hwang Soo Jin15,27569.02
Workers' Party Madai Puthan Damodaran Nair6,85530.98
Joo Chiat 12,805 People's Action Party Yeoh Ghim Seng 8,54274.18
Singapore Democratic Party Soon Kia Seng2,97325.82
Jurong 18,658 People's Action Party Ho Kah Leong Unopposed
Kaki Bukit 21,318 People's Action Party Saidi Shariff 14,55072.32
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Ibrahim bin Ariff4,07220.24
United People's FrontAtim bin Ismail1,4967.44
Kallang 16,222 People's Action Party S. Dhanabalan Unopposed
Kampong Chai Chee 20,237 People's Action Party Andrew Fong Sip Chee15,42181.22
United Front Leong Yew Thong3,56518.78
Kampong Glam 17,241 People's Action Party S. Rajaratnam Unopposed
Kampong Kembangan 15,854 People's Action Party Mohd Mansor bin Sukaimi11,19478.74
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Jamal bin Idris3,02321.26
Kampong Ubi 16,250 People's Action Party Wan Hussin bin Zoohri11,10273.87
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Sahid bin Sahooman2,81318.72
United People's FrontShaikh Ahmad bin Shaikh Salim1,1137.41
Katong 12,041 People's Action Party Joseph Francis De ConceicaoUnopposed
Kebun Baru 17,709 People's Action Party Lim Boon Heng 13,63282.83
United Front Lim Tiong Hock1,88311.44
United People's FrontJantan bin Taib9435.73
Khe Bong 15,425 People's Action Party Ho See Beng10,49772.42
Barisan Sosialis Sim Say Chuan3,99827.58
Kim Keat 20,781 People's Action Party Ong Teng Cheong Unopposed
Kim Seng 14,734 People's Action Party Yeo Ning Hong 11,10980.55
Workers' Party Seow Yong Chew2,68219.45
Kolam Ayer 22,775 People's Action Party Sidek Saniff 16,99580.35
United FrontMohamed Mansor bin Abdul Rahman4,15519.65
Kreta Ayer 11,973 People's Action Party Goh Keng Swee Unopposed
Kuo Chuan 17,471 People's Action Party Pathmanaban Selvadurai12,37875.92
Barisan Sosialis Sim Chit Giak3,92524.08
Leng Kee 15,166 People's Action Party Ow Chin Hock Unopposed
MacPherson 18,997 People's Action Party Chua Sian Chin 15,28086.89
United People's FrontDarus bin Shariff2,30613.11
Marine Parade 21,903 People's Action Party Goh Chok Tong Unopposed
Moulmein 16,999 People's Action Party Sia Khoon SeongUnopposed
Mountbatten 14,045 People's Action Party Eugene Yap Giau ChengUnopposed
Nee Soon 16,817 People's Action Party Koh Lip Lin Unopposed
Pasir Panjang 17,743 People's Action Party Abbas Abu Amin 11,82472.57
Workers' Party Zainul Abidin 4,47027.43
Paya Lebar 11,666 People's Action Party Sia Kah HuiUnopposed
Potong Pasir 10,068 People's Action Party Howe Yoon Chong 5,50959.05
Singapore Democratic Party Chiam See Tong 3,82140.95
Punggol 23,333 People's Action Party Ng Kah Ting17,10378.86
United FrontChua Nguan Key4,58521.14
Queenstown 17,450 People's Action Party Jek Yeun Thong Unopposed
Radin Mas 18,854 People's Action Party Mohamed Kassim Abdul Jabbar11,33564.07
Workers' Party Wong Hong Toy6,35635.93
River Valley 14,950 People's Action Party Tay Eng Soon Unopposed
Rochore 14,705 People's Action Party Toh Chin Chye Unopposed
Sembawang 17,785 People's Action Party Tony Tan 13,41581.55
United People's FrontHarbans Singh3,03518.45
Serangoon Gardens 16,973 People's Action Party Lau Teik SoonUnopposed
Siglap 16,675 People's Action Party Abdul Rahim Ishak 11,56477.91
Workers' Party Royston George Scharenguivel3,27822.09
Tampines 18,982 People's Action Party Phua Bah Lee 15,06585.92
United People's FrontKasim bin Ibrahim2,46914.08
Tanah Merah 15,711 People's Action Party Lee Chiaw Meng Unopposed
Tanglin 13,332 People's Action Party Edmund W. Barker Unopposed
Tanjong Pagar 13,765 People's Action Party Lee Kuan Yew 11,73092.74
United FrontJohnny Wee Lai Seng5554.39
United People's FrontLee Mun Hung3632.87
Telok Ayer 12,381 People's Action Party Ong Pang Boon Unopposed
Telok Blangah 18,314 People's Action Party Rohan bin Kamis9,18753.02
Workers' Party J. B. Jeyaratnam 8,14146.98
Thomson 14,786 People's Action Party Chau Sik TingUnopposed
Tiong Bahru 18,077 People's Action Party Ch'ng Jit KoonUnopposed
Toa Payoh 13,799 People's Action Party Eric Cheong Yuen Chee9,87276.73
Barisan Sosialis Ng Ho2,99423.27
Ulu Pandan 22,048 People's Action Party Chiang Hai DingUnopposed
West Coast 18,949 People's Action Party Wan Soon Bee 15,18584.43
Singapore Justice Party Muthusamy Ramasamy2,80115.57
Whampoa 19,131 People's Action Party Augustine Tan Hui HengUnopposed
Yio Chu Kang 14,012 People's Action Party Lau Ping Sum11,60787.53
United People's FrontLachhu S. Piaro1,65312.47
Source: ELD

Notes

  1. 605,285 of the 1,290,426 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workers' Party (Singapore)</span> Political party in Singapore

The Workers' Party is a major centre-left 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). It is currently the largest and oldest opposition party in Parliament, having contested every parliamentary election since 1959 against the dominant PAP. The WP is the only political party other than the PAP with elected Members of Parliament (MPs) since the 1991 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Democratic Party</span> Political party in Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiam See Tong</span> Singaporean politician

Chiam See Tong is a Singaporean retired politician and lawyer who served as the Secretary-General of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) between 1980 and 1993 and Secretary-General of Singapore People's Party (SPP) between 2011 and 2019 and the chairman of Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) between 2001 and 2011. He was the de facto Leader of the Opposition when he became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency (SMC) and served between 1984 and 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-constituency Member of Parliament</span> MP without constituency in Singapore

A Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) is a member of an opposition political party in Singapore who, according to the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act, is declared to have been elected a Member of Parliament (MP) without constituency representation, despite having lost in a general election, by virtue of having been one of the best-performing losers. When less than 12 opposition MPs have been elected, the number of NCMPs is the difference to total 12. NCMPs enjoy all of the privileges of ordinary members of Parliament, apart from the salary, which is substantially lower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Singapore

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 10th Parliament of Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hougang Single Member Constituency</span> Electoral division in Singapore

The Hougang Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. It is managed by Aljunied-Hougang Town Council. The current Member of Parliament is Dennis Tan Lip Fong of the Workers' Party (WP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 11th Parliament of Singapore

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.

Cheng San Group Representation Constituency was a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the North-eastern region in Singapore. The GRC consisted of the eastern part of Ang Mo Kio, Jalan Kayu, Seletar Hills, part of Serangoon North, a large part of Hougang, Buangkok, and the whole of Sengkang New Town and Punggol New Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 9th Parliament of Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 4th Parliament of Singapore

General elections were held in Singapore on 23 December 1976. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 69 seats, the third of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 95%, out of 857,297 voters eligible from the 53 contested constituencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group representation constituency</span> Type of electoral division in Singapore

A group representation constituency (GRC) is a type of electoral division or constituency in Singapore in which teams of candidates, instead of individual candidates, compete to be elected into Parliament as the Members of Parliament (MPs) for the constituency. Synonymous to the party block voting (PBV) or the general ticket used in other countries, the Government stated that the GRC scheme was primarily implemented to enshrine minority representation in Parliament: at least one of the MPs in a GRC must be a member of the Malay, Indian or another minority community of Singapore. In addition, it was economical for town councils, which manage public housing estates, to handle larger constituencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 1st Legislative Assembly of Singapore

General elections were held in Singapore on 2 April 1955 to elect members to the 25 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly. Nomination day was on 28 February 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 12th Parliament of Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 3rd Parliament of Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 6th Parliament of Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 7th Parliament of Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 13th Parliament of Singapore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency</span> Electoral ward in Singapore

Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency (SMC) is a single member constituency in Bukit Batok of Singapore. It used to exist from 1972 to 1988 as Bukit Batok Constituency and was renamed as Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency (SMC) as part of Singapore's political reforms. The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is People's Action Party (PAP) Murali Pillai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Singaporean general election</span> Elections to the 14th Parliament of 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.

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p254 ISBN   0-19-924959-8
  2. "Parliamentary electoral Map (Key Map)". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  3. "Singapore Parliamentary electoral Map". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-11-03.