1979 Singaporean by-elections

The 1979 Singaporean by-elections were held on 10 February, 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.

1979 Singaporean by-elections
10 February 1979
7 seats to the Parliament of Singapore
Registered80,075
Turnout74,887 (93.52%) Decrease 1.39%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Lee Kuan Yew J. B. Jeyaretnam
Party PAP WP
Leader's seat Did not Contest Telok Blangah SMC
(lost)
Seats won 7 0
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 53,222 8,036
Percentage 72.69% 10.98%
Swing Decrease 1.37% Increase 5.59%
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

PAP

For the by-election in Anson SMC, PAP candidate Devan Nair defeated DPP candidate Johnny Wee Lai Deng with 86.2% of the vote. Devan Nair was elected as the Member of Parliament for Anson SMC.

For the by-election in Mountbatten SMC, PAP candidate Eugene Yap Giau Cheng defeated DPP candidate Seow Khee Leng with 79.9% of the vote. Eugene Yap Giau Cheng was elected as the Member of Parliament for Mountbatten SMC.

For the by-election in Potong Pasir SMC, PAP candidate Howe Yoon Chong defeated independent candidate Chiam See Tong with 66.8% of the vote. Howe Yoon Chong was elected as the Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir SMC.

For the by-election in Sembawang SMC, PAP candidate Tony Tan defeated United People's Front candidate Harbans Singh with 78.4% of the vote. Tony Tan was elected as the Member of Parliament for Sembawang SMC.

For the by-election in Telok Blangah SMC, PAP candidate Rohan bin Kamis defeated WP candidate J. B. Jeyaretnam with 61.2% of the vote. Rohan bin Kamis was elected as the Member of Parliament for Telok Blangah SMC.

For the by-election in Nee Soon SMC, PAP candidate Koh Lip Lin was elected as the Member of Parliament for Nee Soon SMC after an uncontested walkover.

For the by-election in Geylang West SMC, incumbent PAP candidate Teh Cheang Wan was elected as the Member of Parliament for Geylang West SMC after an uncontested walkover.

Background

Similar to 1970 by election, 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 be assumed 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

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
By-election 1979: Anson
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
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 % ±%
PAP Teh Cheang Wan Walkover
Majority
Turnout 20,874
PAP hold Swing N/A
By-election 1979: Mountbatten
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
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 % ±%
PAP Koh Lip Lin Walkover
Majority
Turnout 15,932
PAP hold Swing N/A
By-election 1979: Potong Pasir
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
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 % ±%
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 % ±%
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
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