1988 Singaporean general election

Singaporean general election, 1988

3 September 1988
81 seats (plus 2 NCMPs) to the Parliament of Singapore. Only 50 seats contested; 41 seats needed for a majority.
Turnout	94.7%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Lee Kuan Yew J.B. Jeyaretnam Chiam See Tong Party PAP WP SDP Leader's seat Tanjong Pagar Never Contest Potong Pasir Last election 77 seats, 64.8% 1 seat, 3.7% 1 seat, 3.7% Seats won 80 0 + 2 NCMPs 1 Seat change 3 1 Popular vote 848,029 224,473 158,341 Percentage 63.2% 12.6% (total) / 38.5% (valid) 11.8% (total) / 39.5% (valid) Swing 1.6% 6.4%/3.4% 5.7%/6.6%
Prime Minister before election Lee Kuan Yew PAP Elected Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew PAP

General elections were held in Singapore on 3 September 1988. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 80 of the 81 seats. Voter turnout was 94.7%, although this figure represents the turnout in the 50 constituencies to be contested, with PAP candidates earning walkovers in the other 31.

Overview

Group Representation Constituencies were introduced in this general election to ensure ethnic minority representation in Parliament, starting with three joint constituencies. This was the last time Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew led the PAP in an election and another two stalwarts, former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Toh Chin Chye and Senior Minister S. Rajaratnam, retired for the PAP's renewal process.

Two seats were vacated in 1986 - the seat of Anson for Workers' Party (WP) Member of Parliament and chief J. B. Jeyaretnam and Geylang West of PAP MP Teh Cheang Wan, the former convicted and disqualified as MP for improper party accounts, while the latter committed suicide while on investigations for corruption - but no by-election was held. The Workers' Party absorbed two parties, Barisan Sosialis (BS) and Singapore United Front to become the largest opposition party and also allied with the Malay party PKMS as one common unit.

Former solicitor-general and Law Society president, Francis Seow, standing under the WP ticket in Eunos Group Representation Constituency with veteran politician Dr Lee Siew Choh, came under fire from the PAP leadership for his alleged dubious financial circumstances. Nevertheless, the strong WP team caught PAP's attention and Tay Eng Soon, a popular PAP stalwart, was switched to face the team. In the end, PAP won the GRC by an extremely narrow margin of 50.9% for the PAP and 49.1% for the WP.

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 Dr Lee and Seow.

Francis Seow fled the country to avoid arrest and was disqualified from the post while Dr Lee took up the offer and became Singapore's first NCMP. This also marked his return to Parliament after 25 years since his last stint as a PAP and BS legislator. Once again, there was a significant increase of election deposit.

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.

Boundary changes

Constituency	Changes
Formation of Group Representation Constituencies
Aljunied GRC	Formed from Aljunied, Kampong Kembangan and Kampong Ubi SMCs
Bedok GRC	Formed from Bedok, Kampong Chai Chee and Tanah Merah SMCs
Brickworks GRC	Formed from Brickworks, Alexandra and Queenstown SMCs
Cheng San GRC	Formed from Cheng San, Chong Boon and Jalan Kayu SMCs
Eunos GRC	Formed from Eunos, Kaki Bukit and a portion of Tampines SMCs (The latter part was renamed to Tampines North)
Hong Kah GRC	Formed from with part of Hong Kah (Hong Kah Central), Yuhua (Hong Kah South) and Bukit Batok SMCs (Hong Kah North)
Jalan Besar GRC	Formed from Jalan Besar, Kolam Ayer and Geylang West SMCs.
Marine Parade GRC	Formed from Marine Parade, Joo Chiat and Geylang Serai SMCs.
Pasir Panjang GRC	Formed from Clementi, West Coast and Pasir Panjang SMCs.
Sembawang GRC	Formed from parts of Nee Soon (Chong Pang and Nee Soon East) and most of Sembawang SMCs Nee Soon Central and Nee Soon South subsumed into its own SMCs
Tampines GRC	Formed from Tampines SMC by splitting into three divisions (Tampines Changkat, Tampines East and Tampines West), and Changkat SMC
Tiong Bahru GRC	Formed from Delta, Tiong Bahru, Radin Mas and Henderson SMCs, Delta absorbed into Tiong Bahru division.
Toa Payoh GRC	Formed from Boon Teck, Khe Bong, Kuo Chuan and Toa Payoh SMCs, with Khe Bong absorbed into Boon Teck division.
New Single Member Constituencies
Bukit Gombak SMC	Split from Bukit Batok SMC
Hougang SMC	Split from Punggol SMC
Nee Soon Central SMC Nee Soon East SMC	Split from Nee Soon SMC
Other Changes in existing Constituencies
Ang Mo Kio SMC	Absorbed Bo Wen SMC
Cairnhill SMC	Absorbed River Valley SMC
Tanjong Pagar SMC	Absorbed Anson SMC
Kampong Glam SMC	Absorbed Rochore SMC
Kreta Ayer SMC	Absorbed Telok Ayer SMC

New candidates

• A Nasser Kamaruddin
• Chay Wai Chuen
• Charles Chong
• Choo Wee Khiang
• George Yeo Yong Boon
• Hong Hai
• John Chen Seow Phun
• K Shanmugam
• Lew Syn Pau
• Loh Meng See
• Low Seow Chay
• Ong Chit Chung
• Peh Chin Hua
• Peter Sung
• Seet Ai Mee
• Wong Kwei Cheong

Retiring candidates

Candidate	Age	Constituency	Since	Replacement
Ang Kok Peng	61	Buona Vista	1972	Peter Sung
Chai Chong Yii	53	Bukit Batok	1972	Ong Chit Chung
E.W. Barker	68	Tanglin	1959	Lew Syn Pau
Eric Cheong	58	Toa Payoh	1968	Davinder Singh
Fong Sip Chee	50	Kampong Chai Chee	1963	Hong Hai
Jek Yeun Thong	58	Queenstown	1968	Chay Wai Chuen
Lai Tha Chai	52	Henderson	1972	S Vasoo
Ong Pang Boon	58	Telok Ayer	1959	Merged into Kreta Ayer
Phua Bah Lee	56	Tampines	1968	Split into three different wards
S. Rajartnam	73	Kampong Glam	1959	Loh Meng See
Tang See Chim	56	Chua Chu Kang	1966	Low Seow Chay
Toh Chin Chye	68	Rochor	1959	Merged into Kampong Glam
Yeo Choo Kok	52	Delta	1970	Merged into Kim Seng

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
People's Action Party	848,029	63.2	80	+3
Workers' Party	224,473	16.7	0	–1
Singapore Democratic Party	158,341	11.8	1	0
National Solidarity Party	50,432	3.8	0	New
United People's Front	17,282	1.3	0	0
Singapore Justice Party	14,660	1.1	0	0
Singapore Malay National Organisation	13,526	1.0	0	0
Angkatan Islam	280	0.0	0	0
Independents	15,412	1.1	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	30,629	–	–	–
Total	1,373,064	100	81	+2
Registered voters/turnout	1,449,838	86.9	–	–
Source: Singapore Elections