1979 Singaporean by-elections

Singaporean by-elections in 1979

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1979 Singaporean by-elections

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| <- 1977 | 10 February 1979 | 1981 ->

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7 seats to the Parliament of Singapore
Registered| 80,075
Turnout| 74,887 (93.52%)  1.39%
|  | First party  | Second party

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|  |
Leader  | Lee Kuan Yew | J. B. Jeyaretnam
Party  | PAP | WP
Seats won  | 7 | 0
Seat change  |  |
Popular vote  | 53,222 | 8,036
Percentage  | 72.69% | 10.98%
Swing  |  1.37%  |  5.59%

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| MP before election

Govindaswamy Perumal
Yong Nyuk Lin
Ng Yeow Chong
Ong Soo Chuan
Ivan Baptist
Teong Eng Siong
Shaik Ahmad bin Abdul Haleem
PAP

| Elected MP

Devan Nair
Teh Cheang Wan
Eugene Yap
Koh Lip Lin
Howe Yoon Chong
Tony Tan
Rohan bin Kamis
PAP

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The by-elections were held on 10 February for seven constituencies, with the nomination day held on 31 January. With 80,075 registered voters, the 1979 by-elections remain the largest by-election to have ever taken place in Singapore.

All PAP candidates, Devan Nair, Eugene Yap Giau Cheng, Howe Yoon Chong, Tony Tan, Rohan bin Kamis, Koh Lip Lin, and Teh Cheang Wan, won their respective contests with two walkovers, defeating candidates from Democratic Progressive Party, United People's Front, and an independent candidate.

## Background

[edit]

Similar to 1970 by-elections, as part of the People's Action Party continuous initiative to renew its ranks, the PAP had invited six instead of five veteran PAP Ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) to resign. Also, with the demise of Anson's MP P. Govindaswamy, the 1979 by-election is regarded as the biggest-ever by-election in Singapore's history where there are seven seats namely Anson, Geylang West, Mountbatten, Nee Soon, Potong Pasir, Sembawang, and Telok Blangah up for grabs. This by-election also sees the introduction of two prominent candidates: the first was Tony Tan Keng Yam, who would lassume the role of the Cabinet Minister after the by-election victory in Sembawang, and later went on to become the 7th Deputy Prime Minister from 1995, and the 7th President of Singapore from 2011; the second was Chiam See Tong, who made his debut on Potong Pasir would later be elected for that area on his third attempt in the 1984 General elections with his second attempt made on the next year's general election.

Since this is the biggest ever by election in Singapore's history, therefore key opposition stalwarts emerged to contest with the exception of Barisan Sosialis which was then criticised by United People's Front (Singapore) and left the only two constituencies out of seven, namely Nee Soon and Geylang West to be uncontested.

## Election deposit

[edit]

The election deposit was set at $1200. Similar to previous elections, the election deposit will be forfeited if the particular candidate had failed to secure at least 12.5% or one-eighth of the votes.

## Results

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By-election 1979: Anson  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| PAP | Chengara Veetil Devan Nair | 8,127  | 86.2  | N/A
| DPP | Johnny Wee Lai Seng  | 1,300  | 13.8  | N/A
Majority  | 6,827  | 72.4  | N/A
Turnout | 9,694  | 86.2  | N/A
| PAP hold | Swing | N/A  |
By-election 1979: Geylang West  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| PAP | Teh Cheang Wan | Walkover |  |
Majority  |  |  |
Turnout | 20,874  |  |
| PAP hold | Swing | N/A  |
By-election 1979: Mountbatten  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| PAP | Eugene Yap Giau Cheng  | 10,528  | 79.9  | +14.0
| DPP | Seow Khee Leng | 2,642  | 20.1  | −14.0
Majority  | 7,886  | 59.8  | +28
Turnout | 13,536  | 94.9  | −0.4
| PAP hold | Swing | +14.0  |
By-election 1979: Nee Soon  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| PAP | Koh Lip Lin | Walkover |  |
Majority  |  |  |
Turnout | 15,932  |  |
| PAP hold | Swing | N/A  |
By-election 1979: Potong Pasir  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| PAP | Howe Yoon Chong | 9,056  | 66.8  | −8.0
| Independent  | Chiam See Tong | 4,491  | 33.2  | +33.2
Majority  | 4,565  | 33.6  | −16
Turnout | 13,854  | 94.2  | +0.6
| PAP hold | Swing | -8.0  |
By-election 1979: Sembawang  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| PAP | Tony Tan Keng Yam | 12,824  | 78.4  | −5.2
| United People's Front  | Harbans Singh  | 3,528  | 21.6  | +5.2
Majority  | 9,296  | 56.8  | −10.4
Turnout | 16,714  | 94.6  | −0.2
| PAP hold | Swing | -5.2  |
By-election 1979: Telok Blangah  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| PAP | Rohan bin Kamis  | 12,687  | 61.2  | N/A
| WP | Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam | 8,036  | 38.8  | N/A
Majority  | 4,651  | 22.4  | N/A
Turnout | 21,089  | 95.0  | N/A
| PAP hold | Swing | N/A  |

## References

[edit]

* Background of 1979 By election
* Results of 1979 By election

* v
* t
* e

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