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1988 Singaporean general election

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All 81 directly elected seats in Parliament (and up to 3 NCMPs)
Registered	1,669,013
Turnout	94.70% ( 0.95pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Lee Kuan Yew J. B. Jeyaretnam Chiam See Tong Party PAP WP SDP Last election 64.83%, 77 seats 12.65%, 1 seat 3.66%, 1 seat Seats won 80 0+1 NCMP 1 Seat change 3 1 1 NCMP Popular vote 848,029 224,473 158,341 Percentage 63.17% 16.72% 11.80% Swing 1.66pp 4.07pp 8.14pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Lee Kuan Yew PAP Prime Minister after election Lee Kuan Yew PAP

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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.

Though the total eligible voter population surpassed one million in 1976, the 1988 elections was the first time that over one million voters were able to vote in contested constituencies. This was not repeated until 2006.

Overview

In 1986, Town Councils were introduced, which also cumulates to the creation of Group Representation Constituencies, a plurality general ticket voting scheme, to ensure ethnic minority representation in Parliament, starting with three member constituencies. This was also the first election where changes to electoral boundaries were approved by the Prime Minister's Office instead of tabling a bill in Parliament to approve changes.

The Workers' Party absorbed the two parties, Barisan Sosialis (BS) and Singapore United Front to become the largest opposition party and also allied with the Malay party PKMS as a single faction.

In November 1990, two years after the election, the Nominated MP scheme was implemented to introduce non-partisan voices into the legislature. Although the law allowed up to six NMPs, two were appointed at the start and served for a year before the Parliament term ended.

Timeline

Electoral boundaries

In addition to the creation of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) scheme, single member constituencies (SMC) were either formed from or absorbed to neighboring constituencies due to development and electorate, which was shown in the table below:

New candidates

The election introduced certain prominent members such as George Yeo, K Shanmugam, Mah Bow Tan, as well as a future WP and opposition leader Low Thia Khiang, who made his debut in Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency.

• Abdul Nasser Kamaruddin
• Chay Wai Chuen
• Charles Chong
• Choo Wee Khiang
• Davinder Singh
• George Yeo Yong-Boon
• Hong Hai
• John Chen Seow Phun
• Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam
• Lew Syn Pau
• Loh Meng See
• Low Seow Chay
• Low Thia Khiang
• Mah Bow Tan
• Ong Chit Chung
• Peh Chin Hua
• Peter Sung
• Seet Ai Mee

Outgoing candidates

13 MPs retired ahead of the election per the party's renewal, which include Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye and Senior Minister S. Rajaratnam. Before that, two other MPs had vacated but neither by-elections are called, which were J. B. Jeyaretnam (Anson) and Minister Teh Cheang Wan (Geylang West).

Results

With the Singapore Democratic Party leader's Chiam See Tong sole victory in the seat of Potong Pasir, two Non-Constituency MP seats were offered to former solicitor-general and Law Society president, Francis Seow and veteran politician Dr Lee Siew Choh, both of which were standing under the WP ticket in Eunos Group Representation Constituency; their campaign was notable for criticizing PAP for alleged dubious financial circumstances; in response Minister of State Tay Eng Soon went to lead their PAP team for Eunos. Despite losing by a narrow margin of 49.1%-50.9%, WP were eligible for the NCMP; however, Seow fled the country on 17 December to avoid arrest and was disqualified from the post while Lee took up the offer and became Singapore's first NCMP, marking Lee's return to Parliament after 25 years since his last stint as a PAP and BS legislator.

By constituency

Notes

1. Of which 1,449,838 were in contested constituencies
2. 219,175 of the 1,669,013 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies
3. Elected as NCMP on 16 September 1988.
4. Elected as NCMP on 16 September 1988 but lost his seat with effect from 17 December 1988 due to being convicted and fined for tax evasion.

References

1. Singapore Elections. "PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION 1988". Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. National Library Board. "Francis Seow and Siew Choh made non-constituency MPs". Retrieved 16 July 2020.

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• 1988 elections in Asia
• General elections in Singapore
• 1988 in Singapore