Singaporean general election, 1968

General elections were held in Singapore on 19 April 1968, the first as an independent state following the island's expulsion from Malaysia. The elections were boycotted by all opposition parties except the Workers Party, which only contested two constituencies. With five independents also running, only seven seats were contested,^[1] resulting in People's Action Party (PAP) candidates returned unopposed in the other 51 seats, meaning the party had won the elections before voting took place.

Although the total electorate was 759,367, only 84,883 voters lived in contested seats;^[2] Farrer Park, Geylang Serai, Jalan Kayu, Kampong Ubi, Moulmein, Nee Soon and Tanjong Pagar.

Background

Following the resignations of eleven MPs from Barisan Sosialis (BS) and two other BS MPs fleeing Singapore to escape the Internal Security Department, Parliament was left with only PAP MPs.

Electoral system

The 58 members of Parliament were elected in 58 single-member constituencies, an increase from 51 in the 1963 elections.

Due to its reducing population, the Southern Islands constituency was absorbed the nearby mainland constituencies of Jurong, Pasir Panjang and Telok Blangah.

The new constituencies were Alexandra (from Queenstown), Bukit Ho Swee (from Delta), Kampong Chai Chee (from Kampong Kembangan, Siglap and Tampines), Kampong Ubi (from Geylang Serai), Katong (from Mountbatten), MacPherson (from Aljunied), Potong Pasir (from Aljunied) and Whampoa (from Kallang).

Campaign

BS boycotted the elections on the grounds that Singapore's independence was "phoney" and several opposition parties heeded its call. The leaders of Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (formerly the local branch of the UNMO), Ahmad Haji Taff, and the Singapore Chinese Party (formerly the local branch of the MCA), Chng Boon Eng, turned up but did not file their nominations. Due to this, three precedents were set – the fewest seats contested in a general election, the first time PAP was returned to power on nomination day and the first time it won all seats. Henceforth, walkovers became a perpetual feature in every succeeding general election until 2015.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
People's Action Party	65,812	86.7	58	+21
Workers' Party	3,049	4.0	0	0
Independents	7,033	9.3	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	2,058	–	–	–
Total	77,952	100	58	+7
Registered voters/turnout	84,883	91.8	–	–
Source: Nohlen et al.

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 General Election 1968 Singapore Elections