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2 seats to theLegislative Assembly of Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 21,708 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 20,384 (93.90%) 4.42% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Two by-elections were held in 1961. The first by-election, forHong Lim Constituency, was held on 29 April with the nomination day held on 11 March, while the second by-election, forAnson, was held on 15 July with the nomination day held on 10 June.
In June 1960,Ong Eng Guan submitted 16 resolutions to thePeople's Action Party's (PAP)Central Executive Committee criticising the leadership, open disputes with his Cabinet colleagues, including over the abolishment of the City Council, resulting in his dismissal from the cabinet. He was later expelled from the party, alongsideS. V. Lingam andNg Teng Kian on 27 July.[1][2]
On 29 December 1960, Ong resigned from the Legislative Assembly, compelling the government to call a by-election.[3] Ong contested as an independent candidate and won, defeating PAP'sJek Yeun Thong despite the party's leadership actively campaigning for Jek. Ong's victory highlighted his enduring popularity.
On 20 April, nine days prior to the first by-election polling, another seat was vacated following the death of Anson's MPBaharuddin Mohammed Ariff.Workers' Party founderDavid Marshall, who was also a formerLabour Front chief minister, would contest the seat.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Ong Eng Guan | 7,747 | 73.31 | ||
| PAP | Jek Yeun Thong | 2,820 | 26.69 |  50.33 | |
| Majority | 4,927 | 46.62 | 20.01 | ||
| Turnout | 10,818 | 90.97 | 0.64 | ||
| Independentgain fromPAP | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WP | David Marshall | 3,598 | 43.32 | N/A | |
| PAP | Mahmud bin Awang | 3,052 | 36.75 | 24.00 | |
| SA | Chee Phui Hung | 1,482 | 17.84 | 4.20 | |
| LSP | Mohammed Ismail bin Haji Mohammed Hussain | 104 | 1.25 | 13.22 | |
| Singapore Congress | Mohammed Ibrahim bin Mohd Kassim | 69 | 0.84 | N/A | |
| Majority | 546 | 6.57 | 32.1 | ||
| Total valid votes | 8,305 | 86.82 | 12.00 | ||
| Rejected ballots | 1,261 | 13.18 | 12.00 | ||
| Turnout | 9,566 | 97.45 | 10.68 | ||
| Registered electors | 9,816 | 1.06 | |||
| WPgain fromPAP | |||||
Ong's landslide victory was attributed to his popularity with Hong Lim voters and his oratory skills. Incidentally, the PAP candidateJek Yeun Thong was Ong's secretary during his time as Mayor in the City Council. Ong would form theUnited People's Party along with the two members on 18 June and would remain in his seat until his retirement in July 1965. However, following disagreements from the party, Lingam was later reinstated to PAP on 8 July 1962.
Marshall's victory marked the first WP presence in the legislature and the return to the Assembly since his resignation from the Labour Front in 1956; however, he lost his re-election bid in 1963. Anson would not elect another WP candidate again until two decades later in1981, whereJoshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam claimed the seat.
Two days after the Anson by-election, Prime MinisterLee Kuan Yew tendered his resignation and handed his role to the party's chairmanToh Chin Chye, who declined. Three days later, Lee then moved a motion of confidence in his own government; eight assembly members (AM) opposed the motion (which include David Marshall and members of theSingapore People's Alliance), while 16 abstained (which include the three members ofOng Eng Guan's UPP).[6]
Lee then expelled the 13 PAP members, who perceived that these members who abstained the vote were allegedly pro-communist and disdain loyalty to his government; these members then formed the far leftBarisan Sosialis (BS). The party reduced its majority of seats to one, and would lose its government majority on 3 July 1962, ahead of the year'sintegration referendum, whereHo Puay Choo defected to BS, and the death ofAhmad Ibrahim on 13 July.
| General elections | |
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| By-elections | |
| Presidential elections | |
| Local elections | |
| Referendums | |
‡ uncontested | |
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