The Elections in Singapore are a series of elections that allocate constitutional authority to nominated persons based on a poll of Singapore citizens to determine government policy in the Singapore.
There are two types of national elections in Singapore: presidential and parliamentary.
The people elect their representatives in Parliament, and the Constitution requires that each Parliament must be dissolved no later than five years after its beginning or first sitting and that parliamentary elections must be held no later than three months from the dissolution of the previous Parliament. Singapore has a dominant party political system with the People's Action Party in power since gaining full internal self-rule in 1959 from the British. Singapore merged with Malaysia on September 16 1963 but separated August 9 1965. Opposition parties exist, but will probably not be able to gain significant power or form the government of Singapore. In the last parliamentary election in 2001, 10 out of the 23 parliamentary districts were uncontested. 82 out of the 84 elected seats went to the PAP, Low Thia Khiang from the Workers' Party returned in the district of Hougang, while Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Alliance was re-elected in the riding of Potong Pasir.
Parliamentary election details and process
1. Legislations on Parliamentary Elections The 3 main legislations governing the conduct of the Parliamentary Elections are: (a) The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (The Legislature - Part VI); (b) The Parliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 218); and (c) The Political Donations Regulations (Chapter 236, Rg 2).
2. The Parliament 2.1 The Singapore Parliament has a single house and has three types of Members of Parliament (MPs) They are:
(a) Elected MPs; (b) Non-Constituency MPs; and (c) Nominated MPs.
2.2 Elected MPs form the bulk and are elected at an election on a one-man-one-vote system on simple majority (popularly known as first-to-pass the post). 2.3 Elected MPs could be returned from a Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Group Representation Constituencies (GRC). Each SMC returns 1 MP while each GRC returns 3, 4, 5 or 6 MPs, one of whom must be from the Malay Community or the Indian or Other Minority Communities. This is to ensure that the minority groups are represented in Parliament. Presently, Singapore have 9 SMCs and 14 GRCs making a total of 23 constituencies and 84 MPs. 2.4 Non-constituency MPs (NCMPs) are chosen from candidates of a political party or parties not forming the Government. We can have up to 3 NCMPs as provided for in the Parliamentary Elections Act, which again can be increased to a maximum of 6 as provided for in the Constitution. 2.5 Nominated MPs (NMPs) are Singapore Citizens qualified to be candidates but are nominated by Parliament to be appointed as Nominated MPs by the President. They do not stand for election. There are 9 NMPs at the moment, the maximum as provided for in the Constitution. 2.6 The NCMPs and NMPs shall not vote on Bills pertaining to financial and constitutional matters.
3. The Parliamentary Elections Act (CAP 218) The Parliamentary Elections Act contains provisions leading to and for the conduct of the elections. Its main features are: (a) Production of the registers of electors; and (b) Conduct of elections.
4. Registers of Electors 4.1 Any person who is:
(a) a citizen of Singapore; (b) ordinarily resident in Singapore; and (c) not less than 21 years of age, unless he is disqualified shall be entitled to have his name entered or retained in a register of electors in that year.
4.2 The register of electors is compiled from records kept by the National Registration Office. 4.3 The register of electors contains, amongst other things, the following:
(a) name of the constituency and its sub-division known as polling districts; and (b) particulars of the electors: (i) serial no; (ii) name; (iii) address; and (iv) sex.
4.4 A register is prepared for each constituency. As we now have 23 constituencies, 23 registers are prepared. 4.5 After the registers have been prepared, they will have to be exhibited for people to submit claims or raise objections. After this is done, the registers will be certified and will be used for the election until a new one is prepared.
5. Conduct of Election As required by law, the President of the Republic of Singapore has to: (a) dissolve Parliament; and (b) issue writ of election to the Returning Officer.
6. Writ of Election The writ will specify: (a) when the nomination of candidates is to be taken (not earlier than 5 days nor later than one month from date of the writ); and (b) the place of nomination.
7. Notice of Election After the President has issued the writ, the Returning Officer will issue a notice stipulating: (a) the date, time and place for nomination of candidates; (b) the nomination paper to be signed by any 6 or more electors; and (c) the payment of deposit (a sum equal to 8% of the total allowances payable to MPs in the preceding year, rounded to the nearest $500).
8. Nomination Day 8.1 Candidates have to present their nomination papers, statutory declarations and certificate personally at the nomination centre. 8.1 At the close of the nomination period, where there is only one candidate (SMC), or one group of candidates (GRC) stands nominated, the (Assistant) Returning Officer will declare at the nomination centre that the candidate or the group of candidates have been returned as MP(s). 8.3 Where there are more than 1 candidate (SMC) or more than 1 group of candidates (GRC) stand nominated, the Returning Officer will adjourn to a date when a poll will be taken, ie. Polling Day.
9. Notice of Contested Election The Returning Officer will then issue the notice of contested elections giving: (a) the date of the poll (not less than 9 days nor more than 8 weeks after publication of notice); (b) the names of candidates, their symbols, proposers and seconders; and (c) the names and locations of all polling stations.
10. Campaigning Candidates can only mount their election campaigns after the close of nomination up to the eve of Polling Day. They can conduct house-to-house visits, distribute pamphlets, put up posters and banners and hold election rallies. Political parties will be given air-time by the Television Corporation of Singapore. The length of air-time depends on the number of candidates each party is fielding.
The maximum amount which a candidate or his election agent can pay or incur is: (a) in the case of a GRC, an amount equal to $3.00 for each elector divided by the number of candidates in the group; or (b) in the case of an SMC, an amount equal to $3.00 for each elector.
11. Polling Day Every voter will receive a poll card informing him of polling day and where he can cast his vote in person. VOTING IS SECRET AND COMPULSORY.
Polling takes place from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm. At the end of the day, the ballot boxes are sealed and witnessed by the candidates and/or their agents. The ballot boxes are then delivered to their respective counting centres. They will be opened in front of the candidates and/or their counting agents. The ballot papers are then sorted and counted. After the count, the Assistant Returning Officer will inform the Group Assistant Returning Officer of the results of counting at the principal counting place. The Assistant Returning Officer at the principal counting place will collate the results at electoral division level and notify the representatives of the candidates (principal election agents, election agents or the candidates) before transmitting the results to the Returning Officer who will make his announcement at the Announcement Centre for the mass-media to disseminate it to the members of the public. The results will be officially published in the government gazette.
Past Elections
Presidential Elections
With constitutional admendments in 1991, Singaporeans can elect the President of Singapore by popular vote.
1993 presidential election
The first presidential election was held in September 1 1993. The two candidates were Ong Teng Cheong and Chua Kim Yeow. A total of 1,756,517 votes were polled. Ong received 952,513 votes while Chua had 670,358 votes.
1999 presidential election
After 6 years in office, Mr Ong Teng Cheong decided not to run for a second term. Sellapan Rama Nathan, a former diplomat and Ambassador to the United States of America was elected by default as there were no suitable candidates besides Mr Nathan himself, in 1999 to become the sixth president of the Republic of Singapore. Mr Nathan's term will expire on August 31, 2005. He has hinted he will not run for a second term.