Following the dissolution of parliament on 17 August 1972, it was announced on nomination day, 23 August, that voting for the parliamentary general election would take place on 2 September.[1] Eight candidates from the People’s Action Party (PAP) were returned unopposed on nomination day.[2]
On polling day, two independents and 135 candidates from six parties vied for the remaining 57 out of 65 seats in parliament.[3] The six parties involved were the PAP (57 candidates), National Front (33), Workers’ Party (26), Barisan Sosialis (10), People’s Front (7) and Pertubohan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (2).[4]
The PAP made a “clean sweep”[5] at the polls, winning all 57 contested seats and 69.02 percent of the 760,472 votes cast.[6] This general election marked the second time that the Singapore electorate returned an all-PAP parliament.
References
1. Elections. (1972, August 17). The Straits Times, p. 1; Chia, P. (1972, August 24). Sept. 2 is polling day. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Eight up! (1972, August 24). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Pugalenthi, S. R. (1996). Elections in Singapore (p. 116). Singapore: VJ Times. Call no.: RSING 324.63095957 PUG.
4. The Straits Times, 24 Aug 1972, p. 1.
5. Clean sweep for the PAP. (1972, September 3). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. 760,472 people (93.55 per cent) voted in the general election. (1972, September 4). The Straits Times, p. 10. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
The information in this article is valid as at 2013 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.