The 1955 Legislative Assembly general election was held on 2 April to elect 25 out of the 32 members in the Legislative Assembly.[1] It was a landmark election as it marked the first time that a majority of legislators in Singapore were elected by popular ballot rather than appointed by the British colonial authorities. The election was held under the Rendel Constitution, which sought to prepare Singapore for eventual self-government by enlarging the electoral roll and increasing the number of elected legislators.[2]
On 28 February, nomination day, a total of 79 candidates submitted their names to contest for the 25 available seats.[3] Ten of the candidates were independents while the remaining 69 were from six political parties. The contesting parties were the Progressive Party with 22 candidates, Democratic Party with 20 candidates, Labour Front with 17 candidates, People’s Action Party (PAP) with four candidates, Singapore Alliance with five candidates and Labour Party with just one candidate.[4]
On polling day, 53 percent of the electorate or 160,395 people turned up to vote. By winning 10 out of the 17 seats it contested, the Labour Front emerged as the winning party.[5] However, it did not have the 13 seats to command a majority in the Legislative Assembly and had to seek a coalition with the Singapore Alliance.[6] David Marshall of the Labour Front was voted into the Legislative Assembly after winning the Cairnhill seat and became the first chief minister of Singapore. The Progressive Party captured four of the 22 seats it contested, the Democratic party won two out of its 20 contested seats, while the PAP won three out of the four seats it contested.[7] Lee Kuan Yew of the PAP was returned in the Tanjong Pagar division with a 5,121 majority, which was the largest majority registered in the election.[8]
References
1. Singapore’s election day: April 2. (1955, February 9). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Sandhu, K. S., & Wheatley, P. (Eds.) (1989). Management of success: The moulding of modern Singapore (p. 1068-1070). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Call no.: RSING 959.57 MAN.
3. A lively election. (1955, March 1). The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. The Straits Times, 1 Mar 1955, p. 6.
5. Labour wins – Marshall will become Chief Minister. (1955, April 3). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. Coalition – minus Malay Union. (1955, April 6). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. The Straits Times, 3 Apr 1955, p. 1.
8. The results. (1955, April 3). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
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The information in this article is valid as at 2014 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.