1980 Singaporean general election

1980 Singaporean general election
← outgoing members elected members →
All 75 seats in Parliament; 38 seats needed for a majority
Registered	685,141
Turnout	95.50% ( 0.42pp)
	Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election; Lee Kuan Yew; PAP	Prime Minister after election ; Lee Kuan Yew; PAP

General elections were held in Singapore on 23 December 1980. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 75 seats, the last of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 95%, although this figure represents the turnout in the 38 constituencies to be contested,^[1] with PAP candidates earning walkovers in the other 37. 685,141 voters out of the total electorate of 1,290,426 went to vote on the elections.

Background

Prior to this election, a series of by-elections were held in 1977 and 1979 after two and seven MPs, respectively, were vacated; however, the ruling PAP won every seat, allowing nine new candidates, which include Devan Nair and Tony Tan (both would later go on to become Presidents of Singapore) to enter Parliament. During the election, PAP also introduced a few other prominent members, such as future ministers Lee Yock Suan and S. Jayakumar, as well as a backbencher (and later Progress Singapore Party secretary-general and a 2011 presidential candidate) Tan Cheng Bock.

On 2 April the following year, then-President of National Trades Union Congress, Phey Yew Kok, resigned his Boon Teck seat after Phey was initially charged from a funding fraud of trade union funds, and left Singapore to avoid a bail; however, Lee chose not to call a by-election in his place since the current Parliament term was due to end.

Timeline

Date	Event
5 December	Dissolution of 4th Parliament
13 December	Nomination Day
23 December	Polling Day
3 February 1981	Opening of 5th Parliament

Campaign

The school streaming system, as well as Phey's fraud, became highlights of the campaign for the election.

Independent candidate Chiam See Tong, who made his political debut in the previous election, founded Singapore Democratic Party on 8 September, and would later go on to win Potong Pasir Constituency on the 1984 election on his third attempt (his first attempt was in the by-election last year) after the retirement of incumbent and cabinet minister Howe Yoon Chong.

A total of 43 opposition candidates went on to contest in 38 constituencies, which was nearly half of the total, with United People's Front representing the most number of candidates at 14. This was the first election (of the only three in history, with the other being 2006 and 2011) none of the candidates ran as Independents.

Constituencies

Similar to previous elections, constituencies were either dissolved or created due to population. The constituencies which saw changes were:^[2]^[3]

Constituency	Changes
New Constituencies
Ayer Rajah Clementi West Coast	Carved from Bukit Timah
Cheng San Chong Boon	Carved from Serangoon Gardens
Kaki Bukit	Carved from Kampong Chai Chee
Kebun Baru Yio Chu Kang	Carved from Ang Mo Kio
Tanah Merah	Carved from Bedok and Changi
Defunct Constituencies
Farrer Park	Ward was absorbed to Moulmein and Cairnhill
Geylang East	Ward was absorbed to Geylang Serai
Upper Serangoon	Ward was absorbed to Serangoon Gardens and Paya Lebar

Results



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	People's Action Party	494,268	77.66	+3.57	75	+6
	Workers' Party	39,590	6.22	–5.33	0	0
	United People's Front	28,586	4.49	+2.70	0	0
	Singapore United Front	27,522	4.32	–2.38	0	0
	Barisan Sosialis	16,488	2.59	–0.60	0	0
	Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	13,435	2.11	+0.95	0	0
	Singapore Democratic Party	11,292	1.77	New	0	New
	Singapore Justice Party	5,271	0.83	+0.18	0	0
Total		636,452	100.00	–	75	+6

Valid votes		636,452	97.27
Invalid/blank votes		17,843	2.73
Total votes		654,295	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,290,426	95.50
Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections^[usurped]^[a]

By constituency

Constituency	Electorate		Candidate	Votes	%
Alexandra	18,163	People's Action Party	Tan Soo Khoon	Unopposed
Aljunied	17,017	People's Action Party	Chin Harn Tong	13,313	84.59
Aljunied	17,017	United Front	Sim Peng Kim	2,425	15.41
Ang Mo Kio	22,542	People's Action Party	Yeo Toon Chia	17,436	81.99
Ang Mo Kio	22,542	United People's Front	Ang Bee Lian	3,830	18.01
Anson	15,077	People's Action Party	Devan Nair	11,564	84.10
Anson	15,077	United People's Front	John Santhirasekaran P. M. Thevar	2,187	15.90
Ayer Rajah	15,787	People's Action Party	Tan Cheng Bock	12,400	83.39
Ayer Rajah	15,787	Singapore Justice Party	Suib bin Abdul Rahman	2,470	16.61
Bedok	20,852	People's Action Party	S. Jayakumar	14,691	75.03
		Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	Abdul Rahman bin Mohamed Zin	3,527	18.01
		United People's Front	Thomas Anthony Tay	1,362	6.96
Boon Lay	21,317	People's Action Party	Goh Chee Wee	15,005	74.19
Boon Lay	21,317	United Front	Tan Chee Kien	5,220	25.81
Boon Teck	18,705	People's Action Party	Liew Kok Pun	11,917	68.14
Boon Teck	18,705	Barisan Sosialis	Lee Siew Choh	5,571	31.86
Braddell Heights	14,519	People's Action Party	Lee Khoon Choy	Unopposed
Brickworks	13,054	People's Action Party	Ahmad Mattar	Unopposed
Bukit Batok	18,275	People's Action Party	Chai Chong Yii	Unopposed
Bukit Ho Swee	12,435	People's Action Party	Seah Mui Kok	Unopposed
Bukit Merah	19,046	People's Action Party	Lim Chee Onn	Unopposed
Bukit Panjang	23,305	People's Action Party	Lee Yiok Seng	18,510	87.03
Bukit Panjang	23,305	United People's Front	Mohamed Sani bin Ahmad	2,759	12.97
Bukit Timah	15,334	People's Action Party	Chor Yeok Eng	Unopposed
Buona Vista	17,287	People's Action Party	Ang Kok Peng	Unopposed
Cairnhill	18,133	People's Action Party	Wong Kwei Cheong	11,444	71.79
Cairnhill	18,133	Singapore Democratic Party	Fok Tai Loy	4,498	28.21
Changi	25,464	People's Action Party	Teo Chong Tee	Unopposed
Cheng San	17,044	People's Action Party	Lee Yock Suan	12,312	75.89
Cheng San	17,044	Workers' Party	Choong Chee Kwong	3,911	24.11
Chong Boon	13,877	People's Action Party	Rajagopal Sitaram Chandra Das	Unopposed
Chua Chu Kang	22,363	People's Action Party	Tang See Chim	Unopposed
Clementi	15,129	People's Action Party	Bernard Chen Tien Lap	12,162	85.42
Clementi	15,129	United People's Front	Singh Munjeet	2,076	14.58
Delta	14,830	People's Action Party	Yeo Choo Kok	Unopposed
Geylang Serai	19,962	People's Action Party	Othman bin Haron Eusofe	13,195	71.99
Geylang Serai	19,962	United Front	Seow Khee Leng	5,134	28.01
Geylang West	22,298	People's Action Party	Teh Cheang Wan	17,585	85.45
Geylang West	22,298	United People's Front	Long bin Abdullah	2,994	14.55
Havelock	12,524	People's Action Party	Hon Sui Sen	Unopposed
Henderson	18,353	People's Action Party	Lai Tha Chai	13,363	77.42
Henderson	18,353	Workers' Party	Lim Kang Chew	3,897	22.58
Jalan Besar	15,058	People's Action Party	Chan Chee Seng	Unopposed
Jalan Kayu	23,766	People's Action Party	Hwang Soo Jin	15,275	69.02
Jalan Kayu	23,766	Workers' Party	Madai Puthan Damodaran Nair	6,855	30.98
Joo Chiat	12,805	People's Action Party	Yeoh Ghim Seng	8,542	74.18
Joo Chiat	12,805	Singapore Democratic Party	Soon Kia Seng	2,973	25.82
Jurong	18,658	People's Action Party	Ho Kah Leong	Unopposed
Kaki Bukit	21,318	People's Action Party	Saidi Shariff	14,550	72.32
		Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	Ibrahim bin Ariff	4,072	20.24
		United People's Front	Atim bin Ismail	1,496	7.44
Kallang	16,222	People's Action Party	S. Dhanabalan	Unopposed
Kampong Chai Chee	20,237	People's Action Party	Andrew Fong Sip Chee	15,421	81.22
Kampong Chai Chee	20,237	United Front	Leong Yew Thong	3,565	18.78
Kampong Glam	17,241	People's Action Party	S. Rajaratnam	Unopposed
Kampong Kembangan	15,854	People's Action Party	Mohd Mansor bin Sukaimi	11,194	78.74
Kampong Kembangan	15,854	Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	Jamal bin Idris	3,023	21.26
Kampong Ubi	16,250	People's Action Party	Wan Hussin bin Zoohri	11,102	73.87
		Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	Sahid bin Sahooman	2,813	18.72
		United People's Front	Shaikh Ahmad bin Shaikh Salim	1,113	7.41
Katong	12,041	People's Action Party	Joseph Francis De Conceicao	Unopposed
Kebun Baru	17,709	People's Action Party	Lim Boon Heng	13,632	82.83
		United Front	Lim Tiong Hock	1,883	11.44
		United People's Front	Jantan bin Taib	943	5.73
Khe Bong	15,425	People's Action Party	Ho See Beng	10,497	72.42
Khe Bong	15,425	Barisan Sosialis	Sim Say Chuan	3,998	27.58
Kim Keat	20,781	People's Action Party	Ong Teng Cheong	Unopposed
Kim Seng	14,734	People's Action Party	Yeo Ning Hong	11,109	80.55
Kim Seng	14,734	Workers' Party	Seow Yong Chew	2,682	19.45
Kolam Ayer	22,775	People's Action Party	Sidek Saniff	16,995	80.35
Kolam Ayer	22,775	United Front	Mohamed Mansor bin Abdul Rahman	4,155	19.65
Kreta Ayer	11,973	People's Action Party	Goh Keng Swee	Unopposed
Kuo Chuan	17,471	People's Action Party	Pathmanaban Selvadurai	12,378	75.92
Kuo Chuan	17,471	Barisan Sosialis	Sim Chit Giak	3,925	24.08
Leng Kee	15,166	People's Action Party	Ow Chin Hock	Unopposed
MacPherson	18,997	People's Action Party	Chua Sian Chin	15,280	86.89
MacPherson	18,997	United People's Front	Darus bin Shariff	2,306	13.11
Marine Parade	21,903	People's Action Party	Goh Chok Tong	Unopposed
Moulmein	16,999	People's Action Party	Sia Khoon Seong	Unopposed
Mountbatten	14,045	People's Action Party	Eugene Yap Giau Cheng	Unopposed
Nee Soon	16,817	People's Action Party	Koh Lip Lin	Unopposed
Pasir Panjang	17,743	People's Action Party	Abbas Abu Amin	11,824	72.57
Pasir Panjang	17,743	Workers' Party	Zainul Abidin	4,470	27.43
Paya Lebar	11,666	People's Action Party	Sia Kah Hui	Unopposed
Potong Pasir	10,068	People's Action Party	Howe Yoon Chong	5,509	59.05
Potong Pasir	10,068	Singapore Democratic Party	Chiam See Tong	3,821	40.95
Punggol	23,333	People's Action Party	Ng Kah Ting	17,103	78.86
Punggol	23,333	United Front	Chua Nguan Key	4,585	21.14
Queenstown	17,450	People's Action Party	Jek Yeun Thong	Unopposed
Radin Mas	18,854	People's Action Party	Mohamed Kassim Abdul Jabbar	11,335	64.07
Radin Mas	18,854	Workers' Party	Wong Hong Toy	6,356	35.93
River Valley	14,950	People's Action Party	Tay Eng Soon	Unopposed
Rochore	14,705	People's Action Party	Toh Chin Chye	Unopposed
Sembawang	17,785	People's Action Party	Tony Tan	13,415	81.55
Sembawang	17,785	United People's Front	Harbans Singh	3,035	18.45
Serangoon Gardens	16,973	People's Action Party	Lau Teik Soon	Unopposed
Siglap	16,675	People's Action Party	Abdul Rahim Ishak	11,564	77.91
Siglap	16,675	Workers' Party	Royston George Scharenguivel	3,278	22.09
Tampines	18,982	People's Action Party	Phua Bah Lee	15,065	85.92
Tampines	18,982	United People's Front	Kasim bin Ibrahim	2,469	14.08
Tanah Merah	15,711	People's Action Party	Lee Chiaw Meng	Unopposed
Tanglin	13,332	People's Action Party	Edmund W. Barker	Unopposed
Tanjong Pagar	13,765	People's Action Party	Lee Kuan Yew	11,730	92.74
		United Front	Johnny Wee Lai Seng	555	4.39
		United People's Front	Lee Mun Hung	363	2.87
Telok Ayer	12,381	People's Action Party	Ong Pang Boon	Unopposed
Telok Blangah	18,314	People's Action Party	Rohan bin Kamis	9,187	53.02
Telok Blangah	18,314	Workers' Party	J. B. Jeyaratnam	8,141	46.98
Thomson	14,786	People's Action Party	Chau Sik Ting	Unopposed
Tiong Bahru	18,077	People's Action Party	Ch'ng Jit Koon	Unopposed
Toa Payoh	13,799	People's Action Party	Eric Cheong Yuen Chee	9,872	76.73
Toa Payoh	13,799	Barisan Sosialis	Ng Ho	2,994	23.27
Ulu Pandan	22,048	People's Action Party	Chiang Hai Ding	Unopposed
West Coast	18,949	People's Action Party	Wan Soon Bee	15,185	84.43
West Coast	18,949	Singapore Justice Party	Muthusamy Ramasamy	2,801	15.57
Whampoa	19,131	People's Action Party	Augustine Tan Hui Heng	Unopposed
Yio Chu Kang	14,012	People's Action Party	Lau Ping Sum	11,607	87.53
Yio Chu Kang	14,012	United People's Front	Lachhu S. Piaro	1,653	12.47
Source: ELD

Notes

^ 605,285 of the 1,290,426 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies.

References

^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p254 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
^ "Parliamentary electoral Map (Key Map)". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
^ "Singapore Parliamentary electoral Map". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-11-03.

[4] 605,285 of the 1,290,426 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies.

[1] Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p254 ISBN 0-19-924959-8

[2] "Parliamentary electoral Map (Key Map)". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-11-03.

[3] "Singapore Parliamentary electoral Map". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-11-03.

[1]

[2]

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[a]

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