General elections were held in Singapore on 13 April 1968 to elect all 58 members of Parliament. They were the third general elections since Singapore attained self-governance in 1959 and the first since gaining independence in 1965. The ruling People's Action Party (PAP), led by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, won a landslide victory, securing all 58 seats in Parliament. Of these, 51 were uncontested, as opposition parties either failed to field candidates or withdrew altogether. As a result, the outcome of the elections was effectively determined before polling day.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p254

The political context of the elections was shaped by a weakened and fragmented opposition. Barisan Sosialis (BS), the main opposition party formed by former PAP members, had boycotted Parliament after independence and subsequently withdrew from electoral politics altogether, citing concerns over political repression and the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) against dissenting voices. Other minor parties joined the boycott or were either inactive or lacked the organisational capacity to mount a significant challenge. The PAP, in turn, used its control over state institutions and media to reinforce its message of stability, development and national unity during a time of regional uncertainty.

With a large number of uncontested seats, voter participation was drastically limited. Out of 759,367 registered voters, only 77,952 out of 84,883 voted with 65,812 going to the PAP, since ballots were cast in just seven contested constituencies. The remaining 51 seats were filled by walkovers. While this result was consistent with electoral rules, it highlighted the constrained political environment and the absence of meaningful electoral competition. This election marked the beginning of a prolonged period of de facto one-party rule by the PAP, during which the party could pursue their policies without opposition, setting the tone for Singapore's political trajectory in the decades that followed.

Background In 1968, Singapore was a young independent nation facing significant challenges, including economic underdevelopment, security concerns and social integration. The government focused on industrialising the economy, attracting foreign investment, and developing a strong military, particularly in response to the announcement of the British military withdrawal East of Suez by 1971. The government promoted civic nationalist policies such as bilingualism, National Service (NS) and ethnic integration to avoid the re-emergence of racial strife. Singapore was previously admitted into the United Nations (UN) in September 1965, joining the international community.

Boycott and arrests

During the late 1960s, some local politicians, particularly from the left-wing Barisan Sosialis (BS), were against Singapore's newly found sovereignty and boycotted Parliament, believing it to be impractical and ungenuine. BS boycotted the first session of Parliament which began on 8 December 1965, a few months after independence on 9 August. Its MPs also began resigning, leading to by-elections in 1966 and 1967, with eleven MPs resigning from Parliament in total. BS decided that their strategy to protest the "undemocratic acts" of the PAP was to carry their struggle outside of Parliament. One of these MPs, Chia Thye Poh, declared that the means of the struggle would be "street demonstrations, protest meetings and strikes".Plebeian (newspaper of the Barisan Socialis), 8 October 1966

In response, the PAP government viewed these boycotts as "conducting pro-communist activities with the intention of causing a communist revolution". The government arrested some BS politicians under the Internal Security Act (ISA), including Chia. By 1968, the PAP had complete supermajority control of Parliament. The PAP would end up occupying all seats in Parliament until 1981.

Campaign The remnants of BS boycotted the elections, arguing that the parliamentary system in Singapore was "undemocratic" and that participation would legitimise what they viewed as an "authoritarian regime", and several opposition parties also heeded its call. On nomination day, the leaders of Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS), formerly the local branch of the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), Ahmad Haji Taff, and the Singapore Chinese Party (SCP), formerly the local branch of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Chng Boon Eng, turned up at the Elections Department (ELD) but did not file their nominations.

Ultimately, the only political party other than the PAP that contested in the election were the Workers' Party (WP), albeit in only two seats at Jalan Kayu and Nee Soon. In addition, five independents contested in five different constituencies – Farrer Park, Geylang Serai, Kampong Ubi, Moulemein and Lee Kuan Yew's seat of Tanjong Pagar. As a result, with only seven contested seats out of 57, the PAP returned to power on nomination day (and the only one where it have a supermajority of walkovers), a feat which was later repeated again in 1991, 1997 and 2001. All seven contests were straight contests, a similar situation would not occur again until 2006. Walkovers in constituencies held by the PAP also became a recurring feature in every subsequent general election since independence, with exceptions being 2015 and 2020, where the two election saw every seats being contested.

The PAP winning every seat also became a recurring theme for four consecutive elections, which lasted until 1980. It was also the last general election in which the campaign period lasted for two months; for subsequent elections it was restricted to only 9 to 10 days.

Timeline DateEvent8 FebruaryDissolution of 1st Parliament17 FebruaryNomination Day13 AprilPolling day6 MayOpening of 2nd Parliament

Electoral system

The 58 members of Parliament were elected in 58 single-member constituencies, an increase from 51 in the 1963 elections. The constituencies introduced or removed in the election, as well as constituencies with changes of boundaries, are shown on the table:

Constituency ChangesNew Constituencies Alexandra Carved out from Queenstown constituency Bukit Ho Swee Carved out from Delta constituency Kampong Chai Chee Carved out from Kampong Kembangan, Siglap and Tampines constituencies Kampong Ubi Carved out from Geylang Serai constituency Katong Carved out from Mountbatten constituency MacPhersonPotong Pasir Carved out from Aljunied constituency Whampoa Carved out from Kallang constituencyDefunct Constituencies Southern Islands Absorbed to Jurong, Pasir Panjang and Telok Blangah constituencies

MPs not standing for re-election Incumbent Party ConstituencyElected inChan Sun WingBSNee Soon1959Chew Chin HanPAPTampines1967Chow Chiok HockPAPUlu Pandan1963Avadai Dhanam LakshimiPAPMoulmein1963R. A. GonzalesPAPSerangoon Gardens1963S. V. LingamPAPAljunied1959Mahmud AwangPAPKampong Kapor1963S. RajooPAPFarrer Park1963Bernard RodriguesPAPTelok Blangah1963Teo Hup TeckPAPJalan Kayu1967Wong Soon FongBSToa Payoh1959

New candidates New candidate Party ConstituencyAbdul Aziz KarimPAPKallangCh'ng Jit KoonPAPTiong BahruEric CheongPAPToa PayohChua Sian ChinPAPMacPhersonJoseph Francis ConceicaoPAPKatongN. GovindasamyPAPTelok BlangahHwang Soo JinPAPJalan KayuT. T. JosephIndependentMoulmeinLee Chiaw MengPAPFarrer ParkLow Guan OnnPAPRiver ValleyLow Yong NguanPAPCrawfordMohamad Ghazali IsmailPAPAljuniedPhua Bah LeePAPTampinesL. P. RodrigoPAPSerangoon GardensSha'ari TadinPAPKampong Chai CheeSia Khoon SeongPAPMoulmeinSum Chong MengWPJalan KayuTay Mook YongIndependentKampong UbiWong Lin KenPAPAlexandra

Results

By constituency Out of the seven seats contested (all by only two candidates), three had winning margins of over 75%, with the losers forfeiting their deposit. The result for Tanjong Pagar (94% to 6%) remains the biggest winning margin and percentage obtained to date.

ConstituencyElectoratePartyCandidateVotes%SwingMarginAlexandra13,317People's Action PartyWong Lin KenUncontestedAljunied14,472People's Action PartyMohamad Ghazali IsmailUncontestedAnson8,764People's Action PartyP. GovindaswamyUncontestedBras Basah9,718People's Action PartyHo See BengUncontestedBukit Ho Swee17,735People's Action PartySeah Mui KokUncontestedBukit Merah19,319People's Action PartyLim Guan HooUncontestedBukit Panjang17,893People's Action PartyP. SelvaduraiUncontestedBukit Timah16,769People's Action PartyChor Yeok EngUncontestedCairnhill12,287People's Action PartyLim Kim SanUncontestedChangi15,594People's Action PartySim Boon WooUncontestedChua Chu Kang12,879People's Action PartyTang See ChimUncontestedCrawford7,190People's Action PartyLow Yong NguanUncontestedDelta17,715People's Action PartyChan Choy SiongUncontestedFarrer Park10,290People's Action PartyLee Chiaw Meng7,82684.9129.2069.82IndependentM. P. D. Nair1,39115.09N/AGeylang East16,185People's Action PartyHo Cheng ChoonUncontestedGeylang Serai12,741People's Action PartyRahmat Kenap9,36383.0135.0066.02IndependentDarus Shariff1,91616.99N/AGeylang West14,609People's Action PartyYong Nyuk LinUncontestedHavelock11,049People's Action PartyLim Soo PengUncontestedHong Lim10,388People's Action PartyLee Khoon ChoyUncontestedJalan Besar11,400People's Action PartyChan Chee SengUncontestedJalan Kayu12,878People's Action PartyHwang Soo Jin9,58182.3051.5764.60Workers' PartySum Chong Meng2,06017.70N/AJoo Chiat12,335People's Action PartyYeoh Ghim SengUncontestedJurong11,445People's Action PartyHo Kah LeongUncontestedKallang9,309People's Action PartyAbdul Aziz KarimUncontestedKampong Chai Chee17,636People's Action PartySha'ari TadinUncontestedKampong Glam9,484People's Action PartyS. RajaratnamUncontestedKampong Kapor10,818People's Action PartyLim Cheng LockUncontestedKampong Kembangan15,862People's Action PartyAriff SuradiUncontestedKampong Ubi13,434People's Action PartyYa'acob Mohamed9,79781.87N/A63.74IndependentTay Mook Yong2,16918.13N/AKatong14,872People's Action PartyJoseph Francis ConceicaoUncontestedKreta Ayer11,575People's Action PartyGoh Keng SweeUncontestedMacPherson13,099People's Action PartyChua Sian ChinUncontestedMoulmein11,888People's Action PartyLawrence Sia9,67590.5632.5671.12IndependentT. T. Joseph1,0099.44N/AMountbatten12,760People's Action PartyNg Yeow ChongUncontestedNee Soon12,846People's Action PartyOng Soo Chuan10,44291.3556.5882.70Workers' PartyWong Hong Toy9898.65N/APasir Panjang12,394People's Action PartyOthman WokUncontestedPaya Lebar17,573People's Action PartyTay Boon TooUncontestedPotong Pasir11,782People's Action PartyS. RamaswamyUncontestedPunggol12,277People's Action PartyNg Kah TingUncontestedQueenstown16,193People's Action PartyJek Yeun ThongUncontestedRiver Valley10,865People's Action PartyLow Guan OnnUncontestedRochore12,222People's Action PartyToh Chin ChyeUncontestedSembawang11,220People's Action PartyTeong Eng SiongUncontestedSepoy Lines11,409People's Action PartyWee Toon BoonUncontestedSerangoon Gardens9,454People's Action PartyL. P. RodrigoUncontestedSiglap11,627People's Action PartyAbdul Rahim IshakUncontestedStamford9,919People's Action PartyFong Sip CheeUncontestedTampines12,703People's Action PartyPhua Bah LeeUncontestedTanglin13,332People's Action PartyE. W. BarkerUncontestedTanjong Pagar10,806People's Action PartyLee Kuan Yew9,12894.3435.4188.68IndependentR. Vetrivelu5485.66N/ATelok Ayer11,721People's Action PartyOng Pang BoonUncontestedTelok Blangah14,785People's Action PartyN. GovindasamyUncontestedThomson15,911People's Action PartyAng Nam PiauUncontestedTiong Bahru16,532People's Action PartyCh'ng Jit KoonUncontestedToa Payoh19,143People's Action PartyEric CheongUncontestedUlu Pandan13,289People's Action PartyLee Teck HimUncontestedUpper Serangoon13,373People's Action PartySia Kah HuiUncontestedWhampoa12,854People's Action PartyBuang Omar JunidUncontestedSource: ELD

Aftermath