# 1991 Singaporean general election

General elections were held in Singapore on 31 August 1991. President Wee Kim Wee dissolved parliament on 14 August 1991 on the advice of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 77 of the 81 seats while the opposition won four. The Workers' Party won Hougang SMC and the Singapore Democratic Party retained Potong Pasir SMC and won Nee Soon Central SMC and Bukit Gombak SMC. This marked the largest representation for opposition parties in Parliament since independence, and was the first time an opposition party won multiple SMCs. This was to date, the only election, where no Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seats were offered, as the four seats won by the opposition is more than the minimum number of opposition MPs in Parliament at three.
Voter turnout was 95%, although this figure represented the turnout in the 25 constituencies to be contested.

## Background

This was the inaugural election for Prime Minister and current PAP secretary-general Goh Chok Tong after then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew stepped down on 28 November 1990. Goh decided to call a snap election merely three years after the last election to court a fresh mandate, setting Parliament's shortest term ever.
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 since 1968.

## Timeline

| Date | Event |
| 8 August | Publication of Electoral Boundaries report |
| 14 August | Dissolution of 7th Parliament |
| 21 August | Nomination Day |
| 31 August | Polling day |
| 6 January 1992 | Opening of 8th Parliament |

## Electoral boundaries
### Existing GRCs

Another group of changes were necessary as it increased from three seats to four. Some of them are in the basis of expansion due to the fast growth of towns. The newer divisions are those because of developments of Simei, Jurong West, Bishan and Pasir Ris respectively. Many existing Single Member Constituencies were either remain intact or absorbed to GRCs, though existing GRCs have also created newer divisions.
| Constituency | Changes/New Group Representation Constituencies |
| Aljunied GRC | Absorbed Paya Lebar SMC |
| Ang Mo Kio GRC | New Constituency Formed from Ang Mo Kio, Kebun Baru, Teck Ghee and Yio Chu Kang SMCs |
| Bedok GRC | Absorbed Fengshan and Siglap SMCs Tanah Merah division was absorbed into Bedok division |
| Brickworks GRC | Absorbed Clementi and West Coast divisions from Pasir Panjang GRC Alexandra division was absorbed into Brickworks and Queenstown divisions, while Pasir Panjang division was absorbed into Brickworks division |
| Cheng San GRC | Absorbed Punggol SMC |
| Eunos GRC | Pasir Ris division created |
| Hong Kah GRC | Hong Kah West division was split from Hong Kah South division |
| Jalan Besar GRC | Absorbed Kallang and a portion of Whampoa SMC |
| Kampong Glam GRC | New Constituency Formed from Cairnhill, Kampong Glam, Kim Seng, Moulmein, and a portion of Whampoa SMC |
| Marine Parade GRC | Absorbed MacPherson SMC |
| Sembawang GRC | Absorbed Bukit Panjang SMC |
| Tampines GRC | Split Changkat division to include Changkat South division |
| Tanjong Pagar GRC | New Constituency Formed from Henderson, Tanjong Pagar and Telok Blangah SMCs, and a majority of Tiong Bahru GRC |
| Thomson GRC | New Constituency Formed from Serangoon Gardens and Thomson SMCs with divisions splitting to form Bishan East and Bishan North, respectively |
| Toa Payoh GRC | Absorbed Kim Keat SMC |

## New and retiring candidates

| Retiring Candidates | New Candidates |
| Abdul Nasser Kamaruddin, MP for Hong Kah GRC Abbas bin Abdul Ramin, MP for Pasir Panjang GRC Augustine Tan, MP for Whampoa Chua Sian Chin, MP for MacPherson Dhanabalan Suppiah, MP for Kallang (and constituency abolished). Dixie Tan, MP for Ulu Pandan Hong Hai, MP for Bedok GRC (Kampong Chai Chee) Koh Lam Son, MP for Telok Blangah Lawrence Sia, MP for Moulmein (also called Sia Khoon Seng) Ng Kah Ting, MP for Punggol Philip Tan, MP for Paya Lebar Wan Hussin bin Haji Zoohri, MP for Aljunied GRC | Harun bin Abdul Ghani, 52 Ho Peng Kee, 37 Ker Sin Tze, 46 Koo Tsai Kee, 36 Lim Hng Kiang, 37 Matthias Yao, 35 Michael Lim, 30 Mohammad Maidin bin Packer, 34 Sinakaruppan Ramasamy, 32 Umar Abdul bin Hamid, 31 |

## Results

| | 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 | Total | 783,612 | 100.00 | – | 81 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 783,612 | 97.27 | | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 21,961 | 2.73 | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 805,573 | 100.00 | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,692,384 | 95.03 | | | |
| Source: Nohlen et al., Singapore Elections |||||||

### By constituency

A total of five candidates (one from the PKMS party) forfeited their deposit. The narrowest margin in the election was Nee Soon Central with SDP's Cheo Chai Chen defeating Ng Pock Too at a 0.66% margin. Buona Vista's Peter Sung had the best result of this election at 79.42%; Potong Pasir SDP candidate's Chiam See Tong's result of 69.64% was to date, the best-performing result for any opposition party in post-independence Singapore (subsequently, PAP's Andy Gan's 30.36% was also, to date, the worst-performing result for any PAP candidate as well). This was also the last election to date to see walkovers on Single Member Constituencies.
| Constituency | Seats | Electorate | Party | Candidates | Votes | % |
| Aljunied GRC | 4 | 94,490 | People's Action Party | Chin Harn Tong Ker Sin Tze Mohamad Maidin bin Packer Mohd George Yeo | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Ang Mo Kio GRC | 4 | 74,004 | People's Action Party | Lau Ping Sum Lee Hsien Loong Umar Abdul Hamid Yeo Toon Chia | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Ayer Rajah SMC | 1 | 21,887 | People's Action Party | Tan Cheng Bock | 15,038 | 75.16 |
| Ayer Rajah SMC | 1 | 21,887 | Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura | Aziz Ibrahim | 4,971 | 24.84 |
| Bedok GRC | 4 | 86,246 | People's Action Party | Abdullah Tarmugi Arthur Beng Kian Lam S. Jayakumar Tan Soo Khoon | 49,109 | 61.98 |
| Bedok GRC | 4 | 86,246 | Workers' Party | A Balakrishnan Lim Chiu Liang J B Sim Say Chuan Tan Soo Phuan | 30,121 | 38.02 |
| Boon Lay SMC | 1 | 15,007 | People's Action Party | Goh Chee Wee | 10,106 | 73.27 |
| Boon Lay SMC | 1 | 15,007 | Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura | Sahid Bin Sahooman | 3,686 | 26.73 |
| Braddell Heights SMC | 1 | 27,444 | People's Action Party | Goh Choon Kang | 13,454 | 52.27 |
| Braddell Heights SMC | 1 | 27,444 | Singapore Democratic Party | Sin Kek Tong | 12,285 | 47.73 |
| Brickworks GRC | 4 | 101,440 | People's Action Party | Ahmad Mattar Chay Wai Chuen Bernard Chen Tien Lap Wan Soon Bee | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Bukit Batok SMC | 1 | 24,908 | People's Action Party | Ong Chit Chung | 12,205 | 51.82 |
| Bukit Batok SMC | 1 | 24,908 | Singapore Democratic Party | Kwan Yue Keng | 11,347 | 48.18 |
| Bukit Gombak SMC | 1 | 24,961 | Singapore Democratic Party | Ling How Doong | 12,037 | 51.40 |
| Bukit Gombak SMC | 1 | 24,961 | People's Action Party | Seet Ai Mee | 11,383 | 48.60 |
| Bukit Merah SMC | 1 | 11,998 | People's Action Party | Ch'ng Jit Koon | 6,878 | 61.94 |
| Bukit Merah SMC | 1 | 11,998 | Workers' Party | Gopalan Nair | 4,046 | 36.43 |
| Bukit Merah SMC | 1 | 11,998 | Independent | Patrick Leong Siew Choong | 181 | 1.63 |
| Bukit Timah SMC | 1 | 24,512 | People's Action Party | Wang Kai Yuen | 16,080 | 72.64 |
| Bukit Timah SMC | 1 | 24,512 | Workers' Party | Zeng Guoyuan | 5,683 | 25.68 |
| Bukit Timah SMC | 1 | 24,512 | Independent | Md Sani Jan | 371 | 1.68 |
| Buona Vista SMC | 1 | 14,596 | People's Action Party | Peter Sung | 10,481 | 79.42 |
| Buona Vista SMC | 1 | 14,596 | Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura | Abdul Karim B Abdul Sattar | 2,716 | 20.58 |
| Changi SMC | 1 | 24,886 | People's Action Party | Teo Chong Tee | 12,292 | 53.00 |
| Changi SMC | 1 | 24,886 | Workers' Party | Tan Bin Seng | 10,901 | 47.00 |
| Cheng San GRC | 4 | 92,979 | People's Action Party | Sitaram Chandra Das Heng Chiang Meng Lee Yock Suan Michael Lim Chun Leng | 54,963 | 64.05 |
| Cheng San GRC | 4 | 92,979 | National Solidarity Party | Chng Chin Siah Chng Wee Hong Gertrude Magdeline De Gracias Pok Lee Chuan | 30,849 | 35.95 |
| Chua Chu Kang SMC | 1 | 22,797 | People's Action Party | Low Seow Chay | 14,489 | 68.44 |
| Chua Chu Kang SMC | 1 | 22,797 | Independent | Kwek Guan Kwee | 5,071 | 23.95 |
| Chua Chu Kang SMC | 1 | 22,797 | Independent | Harry W Baptist | 1,611 | 7.61 |
| Eunos GRC | 4 | 92,728 | People's Action Party | Chew Heng Ching Charles Chong Sidek Saniff Tay Eng Soon | 45,833 | 52.38 |
| Eunos GRC | 4 | 92,728 | Workers' Party | Lee Siew Choh Jufrie Mahmood Neo Choon Aik Wee Han Kim | 41,673 | 47.62 |
| Hong Kah GRC | 4 | 64,712 | People's Action Party | Chen John Kenneth Chen Koon Lap Kenneth Harun bin Abdul Ghani Yeo Cheow Tong | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Hougang SMC | 1 | 21,476 | Workers' Party | Low Thia Khiang | 10,621 | 52.82 |
| Hougang SMC | 1 | 21,476 | People's Action Party | Tang Guan Seng | 9,487 | 47.18 |
| Jalan Besar GRC | 4 | 82,615 | People's Action Party | Choo Wee Khiang Lee Boon Yang Peh Chin Hua Zulkifli Mohammed | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Jurong SMC | 1 | 31,246 | People's Action Party | Ho Kah Leong | 18,843 | 64.32 |
| Jurong SMC | 1 | 31,246 | Workers' Party | John Gan Eng Guan | 8,965 | 30.60 |
| Jurong SMC | 1 | 31,246 | Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura | Mohamed Awang | 1,489 | 5.08 |
| Kampong Glam GRC | 4 | 73,317 | People's Action Party | Loh Meng See R Sinnakaruppan Wong Kwei Cheong Yeo Ning Hong | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Kreta Ayer SMC | 1 | 17,310 | People's Action Party | Richard Hu | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Leng Kee SMC | 1 | 19,027 | People's Action Party | Ow Chin Hock | 13,331 | 76.57 |
| Leng Kee SMC | 1 | 19,027 | Independent | G K Niddy | 4,080 | 23.43 |
| Marine Parade GRC | 4 | 74,032 | People's Action Party | Goh Chok Tong Lim Chee Onn Othman Haron Eusofe Matthias Yao | 51,685 | 77.25 |
| Marine Parade GRC | 4 | 74,032 | Singapore Justice Party | Aminuddin Bin Ami Rajasekaran K S M Suib Bin Abdul Rahman Theng Chin Eng | 15,222 | 22.75 |
| Mountbatten SMC | 1 | 15,497 | People's Action Party | Eugene Yap Giau Cheng | 11,029 | 77.95 |
| Mountbatten SMC | 1 | 15,497 | Independent | Yen Kim Khooi | 3,119 | 22.05 |
| Nee Soon Central SMC | 1 | 26,806 | Singapore Democratic Party | Cheo Chai Chen | 12,709 | 50.33 |
| Nee Soon Central SMC | 1 | 26,806 | People's Action Party | Ng Pock Too | 12,541 | 49.67 |
| Nee Soon South SMC | 1 | 27,722 | People's Action Party | Koh Lip Lin | 13,719 | 52.76 |
| Nee Soon South SMC | 1 | 27,722 | Singapore Democratic Party | Low Yong Nguan | 12,284 | 47.24 |
| Potong Pasir SMC | 1 | 19,263 | Singapore Democratic Party | Chiam See Tong | 12,582 | 69.64 |
| Potong Pasir SMC | 1 | 19,263 | People's Action Party | Andy Gan Lai Chiang | 5,486 | 30.36 |
| Sembawang GRC | 4 | 117,951 | People's Action Party | Ho Peng Kee K. Shanmugam Lee Yiok Seng Tony Tan | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Tampines GRC | 4 | 69,801 | People's Action Party | Chng Hee Kok Mah Bow Tan Aline Wong Yatiman Yusof | 38,844 | 59.48 |
| Tampines GRC | 4 | 69,801 | National Solidarity Party | Ong Seng Kwe Rasiah Thiagarajah Sarry B Hassan Ken Sunn | 26,457 | 40.52 |
| Tanglin SMC | 1 | 16,801 | People's Action Party | Lew Syn Pau | 9,113 | 68.52 |
| Tanglin SMC | 1 | 16,801 | Singapore Democratic Party | Jimmy Tan Tiang Hoe | 4,022 | 30.25 |
| Tanglin SMC | 1 | 16,801 | Independent | Gnaguru Thamboo Mylvaganam | 163 | 1.23 |
| Tanjong Pagar GRC | 4 | 86,944 | People's Action Party | Koo Tsai Kee Lee Kuan Yew Lim Hng Kiang S Vasoo | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Thomson GRC | 4 | 68,294 | People's Action Party | Wong Kan Seng Ibrahim Othman Lau Teik Soon Leong Horn Kee | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Toa Payoh GRC | 4 | 63,591 | People's Action Party | Ong Teng Cheong S. Dhanabalan Davinder Singh Ho Tat Kin | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Ulu Pandan SMC | 1 | 22,299 | People's Action Party | Lim Boon Heng | 11,426 | 56.41 |
| Ulu Pandan SMC | 1 | 22,299 | Singapore Democratic Party | Ashleigh Seow | 8,828 | 43.59 |
| Yuhua SMC | 1 | 18,797 | People's Action Party | Yu-Foo Yee Shoon | 9,945 | 56.16 |
| Yuhua SMC | 1 | 18,797 | Singapore Democratic Party | Toh Kim Kiat | 7,762 | 43.84 |
| Source: ELD ||||||||

## Aftermath

An unprecedented four seats were won by the opposition, the biggest number since the 1963 election, and its share of votes fell for the third consecutive time since 1984, down to then-lowest share of 61.0%. The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) had eight out of nine candidates came in among the top ten opposition candidates, with the party added two more spoils to the seat as well as retaining Potong Pasir SMC by leader Chiam See Tong in a record-69.6% vote, clocking in then the best performance for an opposition party at 48.55% of the votes and becoming the main opposition party in Parliament. The Workers' Party (WP) made its second in-road into the legislature with the victory of its organizing secretary Low Thia Khiang (who previously contested Tiong Bahru GRC in the last election and Hougang SMC on this election), who would years later become WP secretary-general and leader (2001-2018). All three incumbents who were defeated in the election were one-term MPs including Seet Ai Mee, Ng Pock Too and Tang Guan Seng; only Tang returned to the 1997 election as a member in Ang Mo Kio GRC. In a documentary by Low on his Hougang released in 2024, Low also considered Changi before choosing Hougang after WP candidate Tan Bin Seng decide to contest there due to familiarities.
At a post-election press conference on the night of 31 August, Goh glumly attributed the loss 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 (and to date the only) election no NCMP seats were offered since four elected opposition seats exceeded the minimum of three NCMP seats allotted; this led to the eventual retirement of Lee Siew Choh in 1993, despite his team of Eunos GRC were narrowly defeated by an inferior margin.
During the time where Ong Teng Cheong and Lee Hsien Loong were suffering from cancer, Goh went to call an by-election for his constituency (Marine Parade GRC), citing its best chances of winning for "political self-renewal" to get people of "ministerial calibre" to join the government under PAP, and paving the chance for J. B. Jeyaretnam to participate in the by-election after his ban expiring that year.