1972 Singaporean general election

1972 Singaporean general election

← 1968 2 September 1972 1976 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 65 seats in Parliament 33 seats needed for a majority
Registered	812,926
Turnout	93.55% ( 1.72pp)
First party   Leader Lee Kuan Yew Party PAP Last election 86.72%, 58 seats Seats won 65 Seat change 7 Popular vote 524,892 Percentage 70.43% Swing 16.29pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Lee Kuan Yew PAP Prime Minister after election Lee Kuan Yew PAP

This article is part of a series on
Politics of Singapore
Government Constitution of Singapore Law Human rights
Legislature Parliament Speaker Seah Kian Peng (PAP) Leader of the House Indranee Rajah (PAP) Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh (WP) 14th Parliament Constituencies
Executive President of Singapore (list) Tharman Shanmugaratnam (I) Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong (PAP) Cabinet Ministries The Reserves
Judiciary Supreme Court of Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon Court of Appeal Prakash Tay Chong Ang High Court State Courts
Elections Presidential elections General elections
Singapore portal Other countries
v t e

General elections were held in Singapore on 2 September 1972. The result was a fourth victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 65 seats, the second of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 93.5% in the 57 constituencies (which represented 812,926 voters) that were contested,^[1] with PAP candidates elected unopposed in the other eight, which represents 95,456 voters.^[2]

The 65 members of Parliament were elected in 65 single-member constituencies, an increase from 58 in the 1968 elections. Like the previous elections, boundaries and constituencies were carved due to development or population; the newly added constituencies were:

Unlike the previous elections in 1968, which saw the PAP returning to power after nomination day due to low number of contests (seven out of 58 seats), this election saw contests in all but eight seats. Barisan Sosialis renounced its boycott strategy and attempted to make a comeback, while the Workers' Party saw its rejuvenation with the introduction of its new secretary-general, also lawyer and former district judge, J. B. Jeyaretnam (who would later become the inaugural opposition Member of Parliament in 1981); former leader and ex-Chief Minister David Marshall contemplated standing as an independent, but ultimately did not run due to a stingray wound. PAP candidate and architect Ong Teng Cheong, who made his debut in the election, would later serve as a Deputy Prime Minister and also the first-elected (and fifth) President of Singapore.

Describing the alternative opposition parties as having lost their credibility with swerving political manoeuvres, coupled with Singapore's strong economic progress and successful housing development, the PAP declared that Singaporeans no longer saw need for political diversity, claiming that this led to squabbling that would impede its effective governance.

Despite expectations that the PAP would not coast to victory and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew even anticipating that the PAP winning around 45 seats would be a convincing victory, the PAP still managed to capture every seat in Parliament for the second time.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	People's Action Party	524,892	70.43	–16.29	65	+7
	Workers' Party	90,885	12.20	+8.18	0	0
	United National Front	55,001	7.38	New	0	New
	Barisan Sosialis	34,483	4.63	New	0	New
	People's Front	22,462	3.01	New	0	New
	Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	10,054	1.35	New	0	New
	Independents	7,462	1.00	–8.27	0	0
Total		745,239	100.00	–	65	+7
Valid votes		745,239	98.00
Invalid/blank votes		15,229	2.00
Total votes		760,468	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		908,382	93.55
Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections[usurped][a]