1991 Singaporean general election

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All 81 directly elected seats inParliament (and up to 3NCMPs)
Registered	1,692,384[a]
Turnout	95.03% ( 0.33pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Goh Chok Tong Chiam See Tong J. B. Jeyaretnam Party PAP SDP WP Leader's seat Marine Parade GRC Potong Pasir SMC Did Not Contest Last election 63.17%, 80 seats 11.80%, 1 seat 16.72%, 1 seat Seats won 77 3 1 Seat change 3 2 Popular vote 477,760 93,856 112,010 Percentage 60.97% 11.98% 14.29% Swing 2.20pp 0.18pp 2.43pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Goh Chok Tong PAP Prime Minister after election Goh Chok Tong PAP

General elections were held inSingapore on 31 August 1991 to elect members ofParliament. They were the ninth general elections since the introduction ofself-government in 1959 and the seventh sinceindependence in 1965. Despite changes to electoral boundaries, this was the first general election since1963 that the number of parliamentary seats had remained unchanged. Up to threenon-constituency seats (NCMPs) are also available, depending on the results. This was the first election contested byGoh Chok Tong asPrime Minister, following his succession ofLee Kuan Yew in 1990.

Voting was held in only 25 constituencies covering 40 seats, while the other 11 constituencies, comprising 41 seats, went uncontested, withPeople's Action Party (PAP) candidates returned unopposed on nomination day. As a result, the outcome of the elections was effectively determined before polling day.^[1] The election resulted in a decisivelandslide victory for the PAP, which secured 77 out of 81 seats, and anothersupermajority. However, the opposition made historic gains. TheWorkers' Party (WP), led byJ.B. Jeyaretnam but was ineligible to contest due to his conviction in 1986, wonHougang Single Member Constituency (SMC), while theSingapore Democratic Party (SDP), under the leadership ofChiam See Tong, retainedPotong Pasir SMC and capturedNee Soon Central andBukit Gombak SMCs.

This marked the first time since independence that opposition parties held more than one seat in Parliament, representing the strongest parliamentary presence by the opposition to date at the time.^[2] The PAP's popular vote share of 61.0% was also the lowest it had received since independence. As of2025, the 1991 elections remain the only occasion when no NCMP seats were offered since its creation in 1984.

This was the inaugural election for Prime MinisterGoh Chok Tong, who succeededLee Kuan Yew on 28 November 1990. Goh decided to call asnap election merely three years after the last election to court a fresh mandate, setting Parliament's shortest term ever.^[1]

Certain opposition parties led by Chiam See Tong took a collaborative approach on what it was called a "by-election effect", reassuring voters to safely vote in ease for the opposition as such and in which their decision is not to contest every seats. Ultimately, nearly half of the 81 seats, with only 25 contested constituencies, or 40 seats, were contested, resulting in PAP returning to power on nomination day for the second time since1968.^[1]

SeveralGroup Representation Constituencies (GRCs) were expanded from three-member to four-member teams. This adjustment was partly driven by the rapid development ofnew towns, necessitating changes in electoral boundaries. New divisions were established in areas such asSimei,Jurong West,Bishan andPasir Ris to reflect their growth. While some existing Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) remained unchanged, others were absorbed into GRCs. Additionally, existing GRCs were restructured to include new electoral divisions.^[3]

The election introduced notable cabinet members such asLim Hng Kiang,Matthias Yao andKoo Tsai Kee, as well as aperennial candidateZeng Guo Yuan. WithNg Kah Ting's retirement, this leavesLee Kuan Yew as the last active MP from theoriginal Parliament who was still contesting (and eventuallyelected uncontested) in succeeding elections until2015.

A total of five candidates, including one from the PKMS party, forfeited their $6,000 deposit. The narrowest margin in the election occurred inNee Soon Central, where SDP'sCheo Chai Chen narrowly defeatedNg Pock Too by just 0.66%. PAP'sPeter Sung atBuona Vista achieved the best overall result with 79.42% of the vote. Meanwhile, SDP candidateChiam See Tong inPotong Pasir secured 69.64%, marking the highest vote share ever attained by an opposition candidate in post-independence Singapore. Correspondingly, PAP'sAndy Gan received 30.36% in the same constituency, the lowest vote share recorded by any PAP candidate to date. This election was also the last to feature walkovers in a SMC. Voter turnout stood at 95.03%, a slight increase of 0.33% from the previous election, with 805,573 of 847,716 registered voters in contested constituencies casting their ballots out of a total electorate of 1,692,384.^[1]

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	People's Action Party	477,760	60.97	–2.20	77	–3
	Workers' Party	112,010	14.29	+0.18	1	+1
	Singapore Democratic Party	93,856	11.98	–2.43	3	+2
	National Solidarity Party	57,306	7.31	+3.55	0	0
	Singapore Justice Party	15,222	1.94	+0.85	0	0
	Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	12,862	1.64	+0.63	0	0
	Independents	14,596	1.86	+0.72	0	0
Total		783,612	100.00	–	81	0
Valid votes		783,612	97.27
Invalid/blank votes		21,961	2.73
Total votes		805,573	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,692,384	95.03
Source: Nohlen et al.,Singapore Elections[a]

An unprecedented four seats were won by the opposition, the biggest number since the1963 election, and the PAP share of votes fell for the third consecutive time since 1984, down to then lowest share of 60.97%. The SDP clocked in the best performance for an opposition party at 48.56% of the total votes in seats that they contested and became the main opposition party in Parliament, with eight out of nine candidates came in among the top ten opposition candidates, three of which were elected including the seat ofPotong Pasir SMC by leader Chiam See Tong with a record 69.64% of the votes.^[b]

The WP made its second in-road into the legislature with the victory of its organising secretaryLow Thia Khiang, who previously contestedTiong Bahru GRC in the last election andHougang SMC on this election, who would years later become WP secretary-general and leader from 2001 to 2018. All three incumbents who were defeated in the election were one-term MPs includingSeet Ai Mee,Ng Pock Too andTang Guan Seng; only Tang returned to the 1997 election as a member inAng Mo Kio GRC. In a documentary by Low on hisHougang released in 2024, Low also consideredChangi before choosing Hougang after WP candidate Tan Bin Seng decide to contest there due to familiarities.^[4]

Additionally, opposition candidates secured at least 40% of the vote in 14 constituencies, including 2 GRCs and 6 SMCs. Marginal close contests of less than 5% inChangi SMC (47.00%),Nee Soon South SMC (47.24%),Eunos GRC (47.62%),Braddell Heights SMC (47.73%) andBukit Batok SMC (48.18%) highlighted the rising support for alternative parties and reflected a significant shift in public sentiment against the PAP's policies at the time. Despite the "by-election effect", opposition candidates narrowly missed out on winning additional seats beyond their final tally. These close outcomes highlighted the momentum the opposition could build despite the PAP's efforts to maintain a significant advantage, even though it ultimately fell short of securing greater parliamentary representation.^[5]

At a post-election press conference on the night of 31 August, Goh attributed the swing against the PAP to his "open and consultative style of government" and pledged to re-evaluate his style. Since the introduction of the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament scheme in 1984, this was the first election (and to date the only as of2025) no NCMP seats were offered since four elected opposition seats exceeded the minimum of three NCMP seats allotted; this led to the eventual retirement ofLee Siew Choh in 1993, despite his team of Eunos GRC being narrowly defeated by an inferior margin.^[1]

While bothdeputy prime ministersOng Teng Cheong andLee Hsien Loong were undergoing treatment for cancer, Goh called aby-election in hisown constituency just a year after the general election. He justified the move as a strategic opportunity for "political self-renewal", aiming to attract individuals of "ministerial calibre" to join the PAP government. The by-election also coincided with the expiry of opposition politicianJ. B. Jeyaretnam's political ban, creating a potential opening for his return to electoral politics.^[1]

• 1991 elections in Asia
• General elections in Singapore
• 1991 in Singapore
• August 1991 in Asia

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