1997 Singaporean general election

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 election 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.

1997 Singaporean general election

2 January 1997

All 83 directly elected seats in Parliament (and up to 3 NCMPs)
Registered765,332 / 1,881,011
Turnout95.91% (Increase 0.88pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Goh Chok Tong J. B. Jeyaretnam Chiam See Tong
Party PAP WP SPP
Last election 60.97%, 77 seats 14.29%, 1 seat
Seats won 81 2 1
Seat change Increase 4 Increase 1 New
Popular vote 465,751 101,544 16,746
Percentage 64.98% 14.17% 2.34%
Swing Increase 4.01pp Decrease 0.12pp New

Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Goh Chok Tong
PAP

Prime Minister after election

Goh Chok Tong
PAP

After nomination day on 23 December 1996, the People's Action Party returned to power for the second consecutive (and third overall) election as 47 (more than half of the total 83) seats were won uncontested. On polling day, voters voted for the election for the remaining 36 seats, with the opposition party candidates winning only in two seats, down from the four they won in the last election. In this election, Group Representation Constituencies were increased from four members to between four and six members (six-member seats would remain present for two decades until its first absence in the 2020 election).

Background

This election was Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's opportunity to score a better mandate after the PAP's considerably poorer showing in the 1991 election. Two seats in PAP-held Eunos and Toa Payoh GRCs were vacated after the death of Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Tay Eng Soon and inauguration of former Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong as Singapore's fifth and first elected President in 1993 respectively; however, both GRCs did not held by-elections and were instead subsumed into neighbouring GRCs. A third incumbent, Lim Chee Oon of the Marine Parade GRC, retired from politics ahead of the by-election in 1992, and future Minister Teo Chee Hean (now as Senior Minister) succeeded Lim.

In 1993, a year following the events of the Marine Parade GRC by-election, the largest opposition party, Singapore Democratic Party, faced a serious internal strife where former leader and Potong Pasir then-MP Chiam See Tong sued his party's Central Executive Committee (which include current secretary-general Chee Soon Juan and chairman Ling How Doong) for defamation, which he won; Chiam resigned from SDP prior to nominations to lead his splinter party, Singapore People's Party. In 1994, Chee criticized then-Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over a lack of democracy, which led to the attention of Organising Secretary and Marine Parade GRC member-of-parliament Matthias Yao; Chee publicly request to challenge Yao with a condition of carving out his MacPherson ward from Marine Parade GRC into a SMC, which the latter accepted.

Timeline

Date Event
21 November 1996Publication of Electoral Boundaries report
16 December 1996Dissolution of 8th Parliament
23 December 1996Nomination Day
2 JanuaryPolling day
15 JanuaryAnnouncement of Non-constituency Member of Parliament
26 MayOpening of 9th Parliament

Nominations and campaigning

The 8th Parliament was dissolved on 16 December 1996, and nominations were held exactly a week after. At the close of the nomination, 122 candidates were nominated among which PAP returned to power for the second consecutive (and third) election after a majority of seats (47) were uncontested; among which were Tampines GRC, which the National Solidarity Party team was disqualified after one candidate was found to have his name struck off the electoral rolls for not voting in 1991. Chia Shi Teck became the first former Nominated MP to contest in the election as an independent candidate in an only four-cornered fight in Chua Chu Kang SMC. The Democratic Progressive Party, formerly named Singapore United Front, contested by a father-son duo led by Tan Soon Phuan and Tan Lead Shake (the latter now a member of NSP).

During campaigning, Tang Liang Hong, who was standing on the WP ticket with its secretary-general J. B. Jeyaretnam for Cheng San GRC, faced criticism where Tang was accused by PAP of being an anti-Christian Chinese chauvinist.

Electoral boundaries

New six-member Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) were formed in the election, while six existing GRCs were absorbed into neighboring GRCs. Divisions of each constituencies which were either absorbed or carved out Single Member Constituencies (SMC), or creating smaller divisions, were reflected in the table:

Constituency Changes
Aljunied GRCWard upsized to five members
Absorbed Eunos from Eunos GRC, Changkat South division from Tampines GRC (renamed to Changi-Simei), and portions of Serangoon Gardens division from Thomson GRC
Ang Mo Kio GRCWard upsized to five members
Absorbed Nee Soon South SMC, portions of Chong Boon division from Cheng San GRC, and portions of Serangoon Gardens division from Thomson GRC
Bishan–Toa Payoh GRCNew Constituency
Formed with Thomson GRC (and a small portion of Serangoon Gardens division) and Toa Payoh GRC, with Boon Teck and Kim Keat divisions absorbed to Toa Payoh Central division, and Kuo Chuan to Toa Payoh East division
Bukit Timah GRCNew Constituency
Formed with Bukit Batok, Bukit Timah, Jurong, Ulu Pandan and Yuhua SMCs, and parts of Clementi division from Brickworks GRC
Cheng San GRCWard upsized to five members
Punggol division was split into Punggol Central, Punggol East and Punggol South divisions
Carved out Chong Boon division to Ang Mo Kio GRC and Cheng San division
East Coast GRCNew Constituency
Absorbed Joo Chiat division from Marine Parade GRC, Kaki Bukit division from Eunos GRC, Changi SMC and Bedok GRC
Changi division was absorbed into Changi-Simei and Siglap divisions
Hong Kah GRCWard upsized to five members
Absorbed a portion of Chua Chu Kang SMC (forming Yew Tee division) and Jurong SMC
Hong Kah West division was split to include Nanyang division (which also absorbed a portion of Jurong SMC)
Jalan Besar GRCKallang division was dissolved into Kolam Ayer, Jalan Besar, Whampoa and Kampong Glam wards
Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRCNew Constituency
Formed with Kreta Ayer SMC, Tanglin SMC and portions of Kampong Glam GRC (except for Kampong Glam division, which was split into SMC)
Marine Parade GRCWard upsized to six members
Absorbed Braddell Heights and Mountbatten SMC, and portions of Serangoon Gardens division from Thomson GRC (forming Serangoon division)
Carved out MacPherson division into SMC, and Joo Chiat division into East Coast GRC
Pasir Ris GRCNew Constituency
Absorbed Pasir Ris and portions of Tampines North division (renamed to Pasir Ris South) from Eunos GRC, while Pasir Ris division was split into Pasir Ris Central, Pasir Ris East and Pasir Ris Loyang divisions
Sembawang GRCWard upzised to six members
Bukit Panjang and Sembawang divisions were split to include Marsiling and Woodlands divisions, respectively
Tampines GRCTampines West division was split to include Tampines Central division
Carved a portion of Changkat South division to Aljunied GRC, while the rest absorbed to Tampines Changkat division
Tanjong Pagar GRCWard upsized to six members
Absorbed Brickworks and Queenstown division from Brickworks GRC, as well as Bukit Merah, Buona Vista and Leng Kee SMCs
Carved out Telok Blangah division to West Coast GRC
Brickworks division was absorbed into Pasir Panjang & Queenstown divisions
West Coast GRCNew Constituency
Formed with Telok Blangah division from Tanjong Pagar GRC, and Clementi & West Coast divisions from Brickworks GRC

New and retiring candidates

24 PAP and 18 opposition candidates were among the candidates making their election debuts this year, while 17 incumbents were to retire ahead of the election. The list are as follows:

Retiring Candidates New Candidates
Ho Kah Leong (Jurong), 58 since 1966
Ch'ng Jit Koon (Tanjong Pagar GRC), 62 since 1968
Yeo Toon Chia (Ang Mo Kio GRC), 55 since 1970
Chin Harn Tong (Aljunied GRC), 59 since 1972
Lee Yiok Seng (Sembawang GRC), 57 since 1972
Ahmad Mattar (Brickworks GRC), 57 since 1972
S Dhanabalan (Toa Payoh GRC), 59 since 1976
Lau Teik Soon (Thomson GRC), 59 since 1976
Teo Chong Tee (Changi), 54 since 1976
Koh Lip Lin (Nee Soon South), 60 since 1979
S Chandra Das (Cheng San GRC), 57 since 1980
Yeo Ning Hong (Kampong Glam GRC), 53 since 1980
Wong Kwei Cheong (Kampong Glam GRC), 55 since 1980
Lau Ping Sum (Ang Mo Kio GRC), 55 since 1980
Zulkifi Mohammad (Jalan Besar GRC), 48 since 1984
Arthur Beng (Bedok GRC), 47 since 1984
Peter Sung (Buona Vista), 56 since 1988
Umar Abdul Hamid (Ang Mo Kio GRC), 36 since 1991
Ahmad Magad, 43
Ang Mong Seng, 47
Chan Soo Sen, 40
Chin Tet Yung, 45
David Lim Tik En, 41
Hawazi Daipi, 42
Heng Chee How, 35
Inderjit Singh, 36
Lily Neo, 43
Lim Hwee Hua, 37
Lim Swee Say, 42
Ong Ah Heng, 52
Peter Chen, 58
R Ravindran, 36
Seng Han Thong, 46
S Iswaran, 34
Tan Boon Wan, 48
Teo Ho Pin, 36
Toh See Kiat, 42
Yaacob Ibrahim, 41
Yeo Guat Kwang, 35
Zainul Abidin bin Mohammed Rasheed, 48

Results

The voter turnout in contested constituencies at 95.91% is Singapore's highest election turnout in history. Only two candidates (Tan Soo Phuan and Syed Farid Wajidi) had their election deposit forfeited. This is the last general election to date to see a four-cornered contest in one of the constituencies contested (not counting the 2011 Singaporean presidential election or the 2013 Punggol East by-election, which were also four-cornered contests).

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
People's Action Party465,75164.9881+4
Workers' Party101,54414.1710
Singapore Democratic Party76,12910.620–3
National Solidarity Party48,3226.7400
Singapore People's Party16,7462.341New
Democratic Progressive Party5,0430.700New
Independents3,2100.4500
Total716,745100.0083+2
Valid votes716,74597.65
Invalid/blank votes17,2552.35
Total votes734,000100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,881,01195.91
Source: Singapore Elections[lower-alpha 1]

By constituency

Constituency Seats Electorate Party Candidates Votes %
Aljunied GRC 5 103,466 People's Action Party Ker Sin Tze
David Lim
Sidek Saniff
Toh See Kiat
George Yeo
64,299 67.02
Singapore Democratic Party Aziz Ibrahim
Kwan Yue Keng
S. Kunalen
Tay Hoon
Wong Hong Toy
31,645 32.98
Ang Mo Kio GRC 5 125,344 People's Action Party Lee Hsien Loong
Seng Han Thong
Inderjit Singh
Tan Boon Wan
Tang Guan Seng
Uncontested
Ayer Rajah SMC 1 22,025 People's Action Party Tan Cheng Bock 15,081 73.17
Singapore People's Party Sin Kek Tong 5,531 26.83
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC 5 122,256 People's Action Party Ho Tat Kin
Ibrahim Othman
Leong Horn Kee
Davinder Singh
Wong Kan Seng
Uncontested
Boon Lay SMC 1 20,014 People's Action Party Goh Chee Wee 12,407 66.10
National Solidarity Party Christopher Neo 6,362 33.90
Bukit Gombak SMC 1 24,909 People's Action Party Ang Mong Seng 15,229 65.14
Singapore Democratic Party Ling How Doong 6,643 28.42
Singapore People's Party Syed Farid Wajidi 1,506 6.44
Bukit Timah GRC 5 118,248 People's Action Party Foo Yee Shoon
Lim Boon Heng
Ong Chit Chung
R. Ravindran
Wang Kai Yuen
Uncontested
Cheng San GRC 5 103,323 People's Action Party Heng Chiang Meng
Lee Yock Suan
Michael Lim
Yeo Guat Kwang
Zainul Abidin Rasheed
53,553 54.82
Workers' Party Abdul Rahim Bin Osman
Huang Seow Kwang
J. B. Jeyaretnam[lower-alpha 2]
Tan Bin Seng
Tang Liang Hong
44,132 45.18
Chua Chu Kang SMC 1 24,074 People's Action Party Low Seow Chay 14,141 61.92
National Solidarity Party Yip Yew Weng 5,040 22.07
Independent Chia Shi Teck 3,210 14.06
Democratic Progressive Party Tan Soo Phuan 445 1.95
East Coast GRC 6 142,201 People's Action Party Abdullah Tarmugi
Chan Soo Sen
Chew Heng Ching
Chng Hee Kok
S. Jayakumar
Tan Soo Khoon
Uncontested
Hong Kah GRC 5 125,452 People's Action Party John Chen
Kenneth Chen
Peter Chen Min Liang
Harun Abdul Ghani
Yeo Cheow Tong
82,182 69.00
National Solidarity Party Steve Chia
Patrick Kee
Tan Chee Kien
Wong Wee Nam
Yadzeth Bin Hairis
36,920 31.00
Hougang SMC 1 24,423 Workers' Party Low Thia Khiang 13,458 58.02
People's Action Party Heng Chee How 9,736 41.98
Jalan Besar GRC 4 71,922 People's Action Party Choo Wee Khiang
Lee Boon Yang
Peh Chin Hua
Yaacob Ibrahim
44,840 67.55
Singapore Democratic Party David Chew
Gandhi Ambalam
Jufrie Mahmood
Low Yong Nguan
21,537 32.45
Kampong Glam SMC 1 20,044 People's Action Party Loh Meng See 13,446 74.52
Democratic Progressive Party Tan Lead Shake 4,598 25.48
Kreta Ayer-Tanglin GRC 4 75,126 People's Action Party Richard Hu
Lew Syn Pau
Lily Neo
R. Sinnakaruppan
Uncontested
MacPherson SMC 1 20,734 People's Action Party Matthias Yao 12,546 65.14
Singapore Democratic Party Chee Soon Juan 6,713 34.86
Marine Parade GRC 6 142,106 People's Action Party Goh Chok Tong
Goh Choon Kang
Lim Hwee Hua
Mohamad Maidin B P M
Othman Haron Eusofe
Eugene Yap
Uncontested
Nee Soon Central SMC 1 26,257 People's Action Party Ong Ah Heng 15,214 61.33
Singapore Democratic Party Cheo Chai Chen 9,591 38.67
Pasir Ris GRC 4 85,908 People's Action Party Ahmad Mohamed Magad
Charles Chong
Ong Kian Min
Teo Chee Hean
56,907 70.86
Workers' Party A. Balakrishnan
A. Rahim
Lim Chiu Liang
Sim Say Chuan
23,404 29.14
Potong Pasir SMC 1 18,759 Singapore People's Party Chiam See Tong 9,709 55.15
People's Action Party Gan Lai Chiang 7,895 44.85
Sembawang GRC 6 154,402 People's Action Party Chin Tet Yung
Hawazi Daipi
Ho Peng Kee
K. Shanmugam
Tony Tan
Teo Ho Pin
Uncontested
Tampines GRC 4 94,476 People's Action Party Aline Wong
Mah Bow Tan
Sin Boon Ann
Yatiman Yusof
Uncontested
Tanjong Pagar GRC 6 141,520 People's Action Party Chay Wai Chuen
Koo Tsai Kee
Lee Kuan Yew
Lim Swee Say
Ow Chin Hock
S. Vasoo
Uncontested
West Coast GRC 4 74,022 People's Action Party Bernard Chen
Lim Hng Kiang
S. Iswaran
Wan Soon Bee
48,275 70.14
Workers' Party Mike Chan
Anthony D'Cruz
John Gan
Ng Teck Siong
20,550 29.86
Source: ELD

Aftermath

With the Housing Development Board (public housing) upgrading scheme dangled as a pricy stake for voters, PAP reversed its electoral decline for the first time in four elections with an increase of four percentage points, and it was the first election since 1963 to wrestle back two of four opposition wards (namely Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon Central) which was previously captured in the last election; due to Chiam's defection to SPP, SDP failed to win any seats and no longer have any seat representation since 1984; till this day SDP had never won any seats as of the 2020 election.

With the election of two opposition MPs (SPP's Chiam and WP's assistant secretary-general Low Thia Khiang), one Non-Constituency Member of Parliament seat was offered to the WP team of Cheng San Group Representation Constituency with the best-performing losing opposition team, which scored 45.2%; WP accepted the offer and elected secretary-general Jeyaretnam as the NCMP, making his return to the Parliament since 1986.

In June 1997, when Nominated MPs were re-appointed, the number was increased from six to nine. On 6 September 1999, the 9th Parliament was relocated to the New Parliament House located within the Civic District facing North Bridge Road, while the former Parliament House was closed until it reopened on 26 March 2004, in which it was renamed to The Arts House.

Tang Liang Hong's self-imposed exile

After the election, WP candidate for Cheng San Group Representation Constituency, Tang Liang Hong was sued for defamation by several of the PAP's leaders, including then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and then-Deputy Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Tony Tan, who accused him of making statements during the campaign which falsely questioned their integrity.[1] A total of 13 judgements were entered against Tang for defamation.[2]

Tang left Singapore shortly after the election and eventually found refuge in Australia.

Notes

  1. 1,115,679 of the 1,881,011 voters were in uncontested constituencies
  2. Elected as NCMP on 14 January 1997.

References

  1. "Tony Tan also suing Tang for defaming him in report". The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. 25 January 1997. p. 1. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. The suits over Mr Tang's police report are separate from the three defamation actions by PM Goh, SM Lee, and six other PAP members for his comment that they had concocted lies against him.
  2. "Tang's case". The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. 9 March 1997. p. 4. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. 13 defamation suits filed against him by 11 People's Action Party

Official websites of political parties

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