1991 Singapore General Election
General elections were held in Singapore on 31 August 1991 to elect members of Parliament. They were the seventh general election since independence in 1965. Despite changes to electoral boundaries, this was the first general election since 1963 in which the number of parliamentary seats remained unchanged, at 81. It was the first election contested by Goh Chok Tong as Prime Minister, following his succession of Lee Kuan Yew in November 1990.
Voting was held in only 25 constituencies covering 40 seats; the other 11 constituencies, comprising 41 seats, went uncontested, with People's Action Party (PAP) candidates returned unopposed on Nomination Day. The PAP retained power with 77 of the 81 seats and 60.97% of the valid votes, then its lowest share since independence.
The opposition made historic gains, holding more than one seat for the first time since independence. The Workers' Party (WP) won Hougang SMC through Low Thia Khiang, while the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), led by Chiam See Tong, retained Potong Pasir SMC and captured Nee Soon Central and Bukit Gombak SMCs. As of 2025, the 1991 election remains the only occasion on which no Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seats were offered since the scheme's creation in 1984, as the four elected opposition seats exceeded the minimum the scheme guarantees.
Background
This was the inaugural election for Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who had succeeded Lee Kuan Yew on 28 November 1990. Goh called a snap election three years into the parliamentary term to seek a fresh mandate, setting Parliament's shortest term to that point.
Several opposition parties adopted a "by-election strategy", contesting fewer than half the seats so that the PAP was returned to government on Nomination Day while voters in contested seats could register a protest vote without risking a change of government. Only 25 constituencies, comprising 40 seats, were contested.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 August 1991 | Publication of Electoral Boundaries report |
| 14 August 1991 | Dissolution of 7th Parliament |
| 21 August 1991 | Nomination Day |
| 31 August 1991 | Polling Day |
| 6 January 1992 | Opening of 8th Parliament |
Electoral boundaries
Several Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) were expanded from three-member to four-member teams, driven partly by the development of new towns. New GRCs created for the election were Ang Mo Kio, Kampong Glam, Tanjong Pagar and Thomson. Some existing single member constituencies (SMCs) were absorbed into GRCs.
Results
The PAP's vote share fell to 60.97%, then its lowest since independence. The narrowest result was in Nee Soon Central, where the SDP's Cheo Chai Chen defeated Ng Pock Too by 0.66 points. Chiam See Tong took 69.64% in Potong Pasir, the highest share recorded by an opposition candidate in post-independence Singapore to that point. Five candidates forfeited their deposits. This was the last election to feature a walkover in an SMC.
By constituency
| Results of 1991 Singapore general election | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Seats | Electorate | Party | Candidate(s) | Votes | Votes % | |
| Aljunied GRC | 4 | 94,490 |  |
Chin Harn Tong Ker Sin Tze Mohamad Maidin George Yeo |
Uncontested | ||
| Ang Mo Kio GRC | 4 | 74,004 | |
Lau Ping Sum Lee Hsien Loong Umar Abdul Hamid Yeo Toon Chia |
Uncontested | ||
| Ayer Rajah SMC | 1 | 21,887 | |
Tan Cheng Bock | 15,038 | ||
| Template:SG/PKMS | Aziz Ibrahim | 4,971 | |||||
| Bedok GRC | 4 | 86,246 | |
Abdullah Tarmugi Arthur Beng S. Jayakumar Tan Soo Khoon |
49,109 | ||
 |
A. Balakrishnan Lim Chiu Liang Sim Say Chuan Tan Soo Phuan |
30,121 | |||||
| Boon Lay SMC | 1 | 15,007 | |
Goh Chee Wee | 10,106 | ||
| Template:SG/PKMS | Sahid Bin Sahooman | 3,686 | |||||
| Braddell Heights SMC | 1 | 27,444 | |
Goh Choon Kang | 13,454 | ||
 |
Sin Kek Tong | 12,285 | |||||
| Brickworks GRC | 4 | 101,440 | |
Ahmad Mattar Chay Wai Chuen Bernard Chen Wan Soon Bee |
Uncontested | ||
| Bukit Batok SMC | 1 | 24,908 | |
Ong Chit Chung | 12,205 | ||
|
Kwan Yue Keng | 11,347 | |||||
| Bukit Gombak SMC | 1 | 24,961 | |
Ling How Doong | 12,037 | ||
|
Seet Ai Mee | 11,383 | |||||
| Bukit Merah SMC | 1 | 11,998 | |
Ch'ng Jit Koon | 6,878 | ||
|
Gopalan Nair | 4,046 | |||||
| Template:SG/Independent | Patrick Leong Siew Choong | 181 | |||||
| Bukit Timah SMC | 1 | 24,512 | |
Wang Kai Yuen | 16,080 | ||
|
Zeng Guoyuan | 5,683 | |||||
| Template:SG/Independent | Md Sani Jan | 371 | |||||
| Buona Vista SMC | 1 | 14,596 | |
Peter Sung | 10,481 | ||
| Template:SG/PKMS | Abdul Karim B Abdul Sattar | 2,716 | |||||
| Changi SMC | 1 | 24,886 | |
Teo Chong Tee | 12,292 | ||
|
Tan Bin Seng | 10,901 | |||||
| Cheng San GRC | 4 | 92,979 | |
Sitaram Chandra Das Heng Chiang Meng Lee Yock Suan Michael Lim Chun Leng |
54,963 | ||
 |
Chng Chin Siah Chng Wee Hong Gertrude De Gracias Pok Lee Chuan |
30,849 | |||||
| Chua Chu Kang SMC | 1 | 22,797 | |
Low Seow Chay | 14,489 | ||
| Template:SG/Independent | Kwek Guan Kwee | 5,071 | |||||
| Template:SG/Independent | Harry W Baptist | 1,611 | |||||
| Eunos GRC | 4 | 92,728 | |
Chew Heng Ching Charles Chong Sidek Saniff Tay Eng Soon |
45,833 | ||
|
Lee Siew Choh Jufrie Mahmood Neo Choon Aik Wee Han Kim |
41,673 | |||||
| Hong Kah GRC | 4 | 64,712 | |
John Chen Seow Phun Kenneth Chen Harun bin Abdul Ghani Yeo Cheow Tong |
Uncontested | ||
| Hougang SMC | 1 | 21,476 | |
Low Thia Khiang | 10,621 | ||
|
Tang Guan Seng | 9,487 | |||||
| Jalan Besar GRC | 4 | 82,615 | |
Choo Wee Khiang Lee Boon Yang Peh Chin Hua Zulkifli Mohammed |
Uncontested | ||
| Jurong SMC | 1 | 31,246 | |
Ho Kah Leong | 18,843 | ||
|
John Gan Eng Guan | 8,965 | |||||
| Template:SG/PKMS | Mohamed Awang | 1,489 | |||||
| Kampong Glam GRC | 4 | 73,317 | |
Loh Meng See R. Sinnakaruppan Wong Kwei Cheong Yeo Ning Hong |
Uncontested | ||
| Kreta Ayer SMC | 1 | 17,310 | |
Richard Hu | Uncontested | ||
| Leng Kee SMC | 1 | 19,027 | |
Ow Chin Hock | 13,331 | ||
| Template:SG/Independent | G K Niddy | 4,080 | |||||
| Marine Parade GRC | 4 | 74,032 | |
Goh Chok Tong Lim Chee Onn Othman Haron Eusofe Matthias Yao |
51,685 | ||
| Template:SG/SJP | Aminuddin Bin Ami Rajasekaran K S M Suib Bin Abdul Rahman Theng Chin Eng |
15,222 | |||||
| Mountbatten SMC | 1 | 15,497 | |
Eugene Yap Giau Cheng | 11,029 | ||
| Template:SG/Independent | Yen Kim Khooi | 3,119 | |||||
| Nee Soon Central SMC | 1 | 26,806 | |
Cheo Chai Chen | 12,709 | ||
|
Ng Pock Too | 12,541 | |||||
| Nee Soon South SMC | 1 | 27,722 | |
Koh Lip Lin | 13,719 | ||
|
Low Yong Nguan | 12,284 | |||||
| Potong Pasir SMC | 1 | 19,263 | |
Chiam See Tong | 12,582 | ||
|
Andy Gan Lai Chiang | 5,486 | |||||
| Sembawang GRC | 4 | 117,951 | |
Ho Peng Kee K. Shanmugam Lee Yiok Seng Tony Tan |
Uncontested | ||
| Tampines GRC | 4 | 69,801 | |
Chng Hee Kok Mah Bow Tan Aline Wong Yatiman Yusof |
38,844 | ||
|
Ong Seng Kwe Rasiah Thiagarajah Sarry B Hassan Ken Sunn |
26,457 | |||||
| Tanglin SMC | 1 | 16,801 | |
Lew Syn Pau | 9,113 | ||
|
Jimmy Tan Tiang Hoe | 4,022 | |||||
| Template:SG/Independent | Gnaguru Thamboo Mylvaganam | 163 | |||||
| Tanjong Pagar GRC | 4 | 86,944 | |
Koo Tsai Kee Lee Kuan Yew Lim Hng Kiang S. Vasoo |
Uncontested | ||
| Thomson GRC | 4 | 68,294 | |
Wong Kan Seng Ibrahim Othman Lau Teik Soon Leong Horn Kee |
Uncontested | ||
| Toa Payoh GRC | 4 | 63,591 | |
Ong Teng Cheong S. Dhanabalan Davinder Singh Ho Tat Kin |
Uncontested | ||
| Ulu Pandan SMC | 1 | 22,299 | |
Lim Boon Heng | 11,426 | ||
|
Ashleigh Seow | 8,828 | |||||
| Yuhua SMC | 1 | 18,797 | |
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon | 9,945 | ||
|
Toh Kim Kiat | 7,762 | |||||
| Source: Elections Department Singapore | |||||||
Aftermath
The opposition won four seats, its largest number since the 1963 election, and the PAP vote share fell for the third consecutive election. The SDP became the largest opposition party in Parliament with three seats. Three defeated incumbents were one-term MPs, including Seet Ai Mee, the first woman to serve as an acting cabinet minister; only Tang Guan Seng returned at the 1997 election.
The WP's Low Thia Khiang won Hougang SMC, a seat the party would hold for decades. He later became WP Secretary-General, serving as leader from 2001 to 2018.
At a post-election press conference, Goh Chok Tong attributed the swing to his consultative governing style and pledged to re-evaluate it. Because four elected opposition seats exceeded the three-seat minimum the NCMP scheme guarantees, no NCMP seats were offered, the only such occasion since the scheme began in 1984.
In 1992, with both Deputy Prime Ministers Ong Teng Cheong and Lee Hsien Loong undergoing cancer treatment, Goh called a by-election in Marine Parade GRC, framing it as an opportunity for political self-renewal.
See also
References
|