Singaporean general election, 1972

General elections were held in Singapore on 2 September 1972. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won all 65 seats, the second of four consecutive elections in which they repeated the feat. Voter turnout was 93.5%, although this figure represents the turnout in the 57 constituencies to be contested,^[1] with PAP candidates earning walkovers in the other eight.

Background

Unlike the last elections in 1968, vibrant contests made its return and the ruling PAP was challenged in nearly all seats. Barisan Sosialis changed tack from its boycott strategy and attempted to make a comeback. The Workers' Party was rejuvenated by former district judge J. B. Jeyaretnam while its former leader and ex-Chief Minister David Marshall, who had contemplated to stand as an independent candidate, was out of the running due to an injury. Despite expectations that the PAP will not have it as easy this time given the stiffer competition and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew even anticipating that if PAP wins around 45 seats is already considered as good enough victory, PAP still managed to capture every seat in Parliament for the second time.

Describing the alternative opposition parties as having lost their credibility with swerving political manoeuvres, coupled with Singapore's strong economic progress and successful housing development without an opposition, the PAP declared that Singaporeans no longer saw need for political diversity, claiming that this led to squabbling that would impede its effective governance.

Results

References