Singaporean general election, 1976

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Future Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong following his first election as MP for Marine Parade in 1976. His Polling Agent Chong Ah Fatt celebrated with fellow supporters by lifting Goh onto his shoulders.

General elections were held in Singapore on 23 December 1976. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 69 seats, the third of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 95.1% in the 53 constituencies that were contested,^[1] with PAP candidates elected unopposed in the other sixteen.

Electoral system

The 69 members of Parliament were elected from 69 single-member constituencies, an increase from 65 used for the previous elections in 1972. Six constituencies were abolished and ten new ones created. The deposit was increased for the first time, rising to $1,200 from $500.^[2]

Although the total electorate was 1,095,817, 238,520 were based in the 16 uncontested seats, leaving 857,297 voters eligible to vote on election day.^[2]

Campaign

A total of 124 candidates contested the election; the PAP were the only party to run in all 69 constituencies, as five opposition parties – Barisan Sosialis, the Singapore Justice Party, PKMS, the United Front and the Workers' Party – formed a Joint Opposition Council to cooperate at the polls. The Workers' Party nominated 22 candidates and United Front 14; no other party put forward more than six candidates. Two people ran as independents,^[3] including Chiam See Tong, who later became Singapore's longest-serving opposition MP.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
People's Action Party	590,169	74.1	69	+4
Workers' Party	91,966	11.5	0	0
United Front	53,373	6.5	0	New
Barisan Sosialis	25,411	3.2	0	0
United People's Front	14,233	1.8	0	New
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura	9,230	1.2	0	0
Singapore Justice Party	5,199	0.7	0	New
People's Front	2,818	0.3	0	0
Independents	4,173	0.5	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	18,558	–	–	–
Total	815,130	100	69	+4
Registered voters/turnout	857,297	78.2	–	–
Source: Singapore Elections

References

↑ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p254 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
1 2 Parliamentary general election 1976 Singapore Elections
↑ Parliamentary general election 1976: Seats Singapore Elections

Elections and referendums in Singapore

General elections	1948 1951 1955 1959 1963 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1991 1997 2001 2006 2011 2015 Next

By-elections	1948 1952 1957 1961 1965 1966 1967 1970 1977 1979 1981 1992 2012 2013 2016

Presidential elections	1993 1999‡ 2005‡ 2011 2017

Local elections	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1949 (Apr) 1949 (Dec) 1950 1951 1952 1953 1957

Referendums	1962

‡ uncontested

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