General elections were held in Singapore on 11 September 2015 to elect members of Parliament. They were the fourteenth general elections since the introduction of self-government in 1959 and the twelfth since independence in 1965. President Tony Tan dissolved parliament on 25 August on the advice of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong three weeks before the election. The number of elected seats was increased from 87 to 89 from the previous election. This was the third election contested by Lee as prime minister.
The elections were held a few months after the death of Lee Kuan Yew in March, who was a founding father of the country and a key figure in its development as a nation. His passing was widely seen as strengthening public support for the governing People's Action Party (PAP) as the national mood of remembrance and unity grew. The government also focused heavily on SG50 celebrations, which marked Singapore's golden jubilee of independence and stirred strong feelings of patriotism. Lee called a snap election by dissolving the 12th Parliament a year earlier than the intended October 2016 timeline, thus making it the shortest term since the 7th Parliament (1989–1991).
For the third consecutive election, the PAP did not return to government on nomination day. In addition, all constituencies were contested, marking a first in Singapore's post-independence history where there were no walkovers for the PAP. Nevertheless, the PAP achieved a landslide victory in the election, retaining its supermajority and increasing its popular vote share by almost 10 percentage points to 69.86%, its best result since 2001. The party won 83 seats while the opposition Workers' Party (WP) won six, retaining Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC) with reduced majorities. The WP's overall vote share fell by about 7% across the 28 seats it contested. Three non-constituency seats (NCMPs) were also allocated to the WP, resulting in the 13th Parliament being the first in which only two political parties were represented, whether through elected MPs or NCMPs.
Background The maximum term of a Singaporean parliament is five years, within which it must be dissolved by the President and elections held within three months, as stated in the Constitution. As like the previous elections since 1959, voting is compulsory and results are based on the first-past-the-post system. Elections are conducted by the Elections Department, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Office.
During the previous general election in 2011, the governing People's Action Party (PAP) had secured their 13th consecutive term in office since 1959. This was the PAP's third election with Lee Hsien Loong as its Secretary-General, and the country's first election after the death of its founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Prior to the election, some analysts suggested that an early election to garner "sympathy votes" might backfire. It was also the country's first election where there were no walkovers in any of the constituencies, as voting took place in Tanjong Pagar GRC for the first time.
The Returning Officer for this election was the chief executive director of the Energy Market Authority, Ng Wai Choong, taking over from Yam Ah Mee who had served in this role in the previous general election. He was also the first returning officer with a different announcement format on the results, with valid votes and rejected votes revealed as opposed to rejected votes and turnout in the past elections.
Political parties
The governing People's Action Party (PAP) has been in power since 1959 and is currently led by the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The leading Opposition party is The Worker's Party, led by Low Thia Khiang, with seven elected seats and two NCMP seats. The Singapore People's Party led by Chiam See Tong has one NCMP seat. A total of eight Opposition parties challenged the ruling party in this election.
PartyLeaderSloganVotes in GE2011Seats wonRemarksPeople's Action Party Lee Hsien Loong "With You, For You, For Singapore" 79 seats at time of dissolution.Workers' Party Low Thia Khiang "Empower Your Future" Received two Non-constituency MPs. Seven seats at time of dissolution.National Solidarity Party Lim Tean "Singaporeans Deserve Better" Singapore Democratic Party Chee Soon Juan "Your Voice in Parliament" Reform Party Kenneth Jeyaretnam "A Brighter Future Tomorrow, Today" Singapore People's Party Lina Loh "We Hear You, We Speak For You" Including one Non-constituency MP.Singapore Democratic Alliance Desmond Lim Bak Chuan "Singapore for Singaporeans" Alliance with Singapore Justice Party and Singapore Malay National Organisation parties.People's Power Party Goh Meng Seng "Securing Our Future" colspan=2 Singaporeans First Tan Jee Say "Restore Our Nation" colspan=2
Electoral divisions
The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is convened before every general election to review electoral boundaries in view of population growth and shifts. The committee is appointed by the prime minister.
2011 2015 Seats 87 89 Electoral divisions 27 29 Group representation constituencies 15 16 Four-Member GRCs 2 6 Five-Member GRCs 11 8 Six-Member GRCs 2 2 Single member constituencies 12 13 Average GRC size 5.00 4.75 Voters 2,347,198 2,458,058 Voters (overseas votes inclusive) 2,350,873 2,462,926
The electoral boundaries were published on 24 July 2015, with about one-fifth of the existing electorate having redistricted to new constituencies, and the number of seats increased to 89, up from 87 in the last election. Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC's boundaries were changed for the first time ever since the formation in 1997, while Moulmein-Kallang GRC, which was created in the last election to take its place with Jalan Besar GRC, was removed. The election also saw the introduction of Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC due to the population growth in northern Singapore, specifically Woodlands and Yew Tee. Only two GRCs located in the North East CDC (Aljunied and Tampines) were untouched. The number of GRCs this election was 16, an increase by one from the last election.
In the SMCs, three constituencies (Bukit Batok, Fengshan and MacPherson) had reappeared from the political map for the first time since their last presence in 1991, 1988 and 2006, respectively. Only two of the SMCs (Hong Kah North and Sengkang West) had changes in the boundaries, while two former SMCs (Joo Chiat and Whampoa) were subsumed to their neighbouring GRCs. The number of SMCs this election was 13, an increase by one from the last election.
The changes of the GRCs boundaries (and any SMCs, if applicable), were as follows: Name of GRC Changes Ang Mo Kio GRC Absorbed Punggol South division from Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (renamed to Sengkang South) and Western portions of Fernvale from Sengkang West SMC Carved out a majority of Kebun Baru division to Nee Soon GRC, while the Southern portion merged with Yio Chu Kang division Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC Absorbed northern portions of Moulmein division (Balestier, MacRitchie Reservoir and Novena) from Moulmein–Kallang GRCDivisions for Bishan East, Toa Payoh East and Toa Payoh West were renamed Bishan East-Thomson, Toa Payoh East-Novena and Toa Payoh West-Balestier, respectively Chua Chu Kang GRC Ward downsized to four membersCarved out eastern portions of Yew Tee division to Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC, while Lim Chu Kang and western portions of Yew Tee was transferred to Nanyang Division East Coast GRC Ward downsized to four members Carved out Fengshan division into SMC, and Coney Island to Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC Holland–Bukit Timah GRC Absorbed a portion of West Coast GRC and parts of Moulmein division (Adam Road) from Moulmein–Kallang GRC Jalan Besar GRC New ConstituencyFormed from Moulmein–Kallang GRC (and a small portion of Moulmein division), Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng division from Tanjong Pagar GRC, and Whampoa SMCMerged Jalan Besar division into Kampong Glam division. Jurong GRC Absorbed Clementi division from West Coast GRCCarved out Bukit Batok division into SMC Marine Parade GRC Absorbed Joo Chiat SMCCarved out MacPherson division into SMC Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC New ConstituencyFormed with Yew Tee division (and carving out Limbang division) from Chua Chu Kang GRC, and Marsiling and Woodgrove divisions from Sembawang GRC Nee Soon GRC Absorbed Kebun Baru division from Ang Mo Kio GRCCarved out Canberra and eastern and northern Yishun portions to Sembawang GRC Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC Carved out Punggol South division to Ang Mo Kio GRCNorthern portions of Punggol North and Punggol West were carved to form Punggol Coast division Sembawang GRC Absorbed Canberra division and portions of Chong Pang, Nee Soon East and Nee Soon South divisions from Nee Soon GRC (forming Gambas division)Carved out Marsiling and Woodgrove divisions to Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC Tanjong Pagar GRC Absorbed a majority of Moulmein division from Moulmein–Kallang GRCCarved out Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng division to Jalan Besar GRC West Coast GRC Ward downsized to four membersCarved out Clementi division (and Faber private estate from Ayer Rajah division) to Jurong GRC
Political developments Following the preceding election, a presidential election was held three months after the parliamentary election. Former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan narrowly won the election by a plurality against three other candidates, with Tan Cheng Bock, who would form the Progress Singapore Party in 2019, finishing second. Observers seen that the both elections in 2011 were "watershed" due to the divide between the ruling People's Action Party and the oppositions.
In the aftermath of the general election, both Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong stepped down from the cabinet and become backbenchers citing renewal process, with the latter being conferred as "emeritus"; as a result the Senior Minister post would be vacant until 2019. The four incumbents from the former PAP team for Aljunied GRC, including former Foreign Minister George Yeo and cabinet minister Lim Hwee Hua, subsequently retired from politics, and the former also declined to contest in that year's presidential election. Ong Ye Kung, a new fifth candidate who was also part of their PAP's Aljunied GRC team, was fielded instead to Sembawang GRC; Ang Mo Kio GRC incumbent Yeo Guat Kwang (whose ward was redrawn from Aljunied in 2011) replaced Ong as their lead.
Towards the end of the term, founding Prime Minister of Singapore and member-of-parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC Lee Kuan Yew died of pneumonia on 23 March 2015, about 60 years after serving the constituency; then-Senior Minister of State Indranee Rajah acted as interim MP for Lee's Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru division.
Opposition and extraparliamentary parties Opposition parties had also seen several renewals, including Singapore Democratic Party where secretary-general Chee Soon Juan was formally discharged from bankruptcy by the court on 22 November 2012, rendering him eligible again to stand for elections for the first time since 2001. Former SDP members Tan Jee Say and Ang Yong Guan formed its new Singaporeans First party in May 2014.
The other party besides the leading opposition party of Workers' Party to represent in the 12th Parliament was Singapore People's Party, which consist of only Lina Loh as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament. Secretary-general and Loh's spouse, Chiam See Tong, announced that he would not contest the election for the first time since his debut in 1976, citing health reasons. The party was further strengthened by Democratic Progressive Party with Mohamad Hamim bin Aliyas and Benjamin Pwee resigning from the latter party to join the former. This marked DPP's first electoral contest since 2001 after DPP became active again in December 2012 following a 10-year hiatus.