By-elections in Singapore

In the past, the Government of Singapore took the position that the Prime Minister had discretion whether or not a by-election should be called to fill a casual vacancy in a Single Member Constituency, and could leave a parliamentary seat unfilled until the next general election.

It has been argued that the law should be amended, otherwise electors living in a GRC where a vacancy has arisen will lack parliamentary representation, and with a missing MP the remaining MPs may find it difficult to deal with constituency matters.

In a 2008 parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong explained that the amendment was motivated by the instability of the Legislative Assembly in Singapore's earlier history.

[13] Law professor Thio Li-ann has commented that in this scenario the obligation to hold a by-election within three months could determine which party held a majority of the Parliament or trigger a no-confidence motion that could "cause the demise of a sitting government".

[14] By-elections could thus "determine the fortunes of a political party, for good or ill",[15] and, according to the Prime Minister, this was considered undesirable because it distracted the country from "other more pressing concerns" and therefore tended to cause instability and inefficiency.

[16] Article 49(1) of the Constitution,[2] which is the provision governing by-elections in Singapore today, does not stipulate a time limit within which a vacant parliamentary seat must be filled.

Article 49(1) of the Constitution states: Whenever the seat of a Member, not being a non-constituency Member, has become vacant for any reason other than a dissolution of Parliament, the vacancy shall be filled by election in the manner provided by or under any law relating to Parliamentary elections for the time being in force.An issue that has arisen is whether this provision gives the Prime Minister discretion to call or not to call for by-elections when parliamentary seats are vacated.

Following the sudden death of Dr. Ong Chit Chung, an MP for Jurong GRC, on 14 July 2008,[24] Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Thio Li-ann moved a motion in Parliament on 27 August in the following terms:[25] That this House affirms the importance of representative democracy and calls on the Government to fine-tune the electoral system by introducing amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act such that (a) a writ for by-election shall be issued in the event (i) a Member of a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) belonging to a minority community within the terms of section 8A(1) of the Act vacates his or her seat for any reason; (ii) half or more of the Members elected on a group basis in relation to a GRC vacate their seats for any reason; or (iii) a Member of a single member constituency vacates his or her seat for any reason; and (b) all by-elections shall be called within three months from the date of vacancy unless the parliamentary term is due to expire within six months from the date of vacancy.Thio expressed concerns that residents in an SMC would be left without representation in Parliament if their MP vacated his or her seat in Parliament.

He submitted that "[l]eaving the timing of by-election vague and ambiguous is not a good practice ... [W]e should therefore amend it to give greater certainty, clarity and transparency.

"[28] In response, Prime Minister Lee pointed out that Singapore's system of elections focuses on political parties rather than on individual candidates.

She argued that a by-election had to be held within three months of the casual vacancy arising or "within such reasonable time as this Honourable Court deems fit".

[38] However, it is "impossible to lay down the specific considerations or factors which would have a bearing on the question as to whether the Prime Minister has acted reasonably for not ... calling a by-election to fill a vacancy", because when a by-election should be held is a "polycentric matter which would involve considerations which go well beyond mere practicality and the Prime Minister could justifiably take into account matters relating to policy, including the physical well-being of the country".

[36][39] The Court also mentioned it is unnecessary to hold a by-election if the Prime Minister intends to call for a general election "in the near future".

"In support of Jeyaretnam, Opposition MP Chiam See Tong claimed that the PAP government had introduced GRCs to reduce the likelihood that by-elections would be necessary.

He added that the constitutional rights of the voters had not been diminished nor the PAP's electoral mandate thwarted, as there were still MPs in the GRC to carry on with their roles.

[16] In addition, Lee cited the past practice of MPs from neighbouring constituencies taking care of affairs in both SMCs and GRCs where casual vacancies had arisen.

In the light of section 24(2A) of the PEA, by-elections need not be called in a GRC unless all the MPs for that constituency have vacated their seats in Parliament.

She has argued it is "inconsistent not to require by-elections within a set period where a vacancy depletes team strength", since GRC seats are allocated based on the size of electoral wards in the first place.

Under the current legal framework, however, there is no obligation to hold a by-election when minority seats are vacated halfway through a term of office.

Thio Li-ann has commented that leaving a minority seat unfilled until the next general election risks defeating the original purpose of GRCs.

[59] PM Lee responded that Thio and NMP Siew Kum Hong had raised too many theoretical contingencies for the Government to address.

He argued that the Constitution and other laws cannot cover all of them, and instead the more practical step that the Government should employ is to address problems as they emerge, bearing in mind the long-term direction in which Singapore's political system should evolve.

[61] In support of the current legal framework, it has been said that holding by-elections without any pressing or pragmatic need would be "a waste of public funds and allow political mercenaries to appear from the cold".

[71] The procedure is as follows: In the event a by-election is called, NCMPs may run for election as MPs without relinquishing their parliamentary seats.

[66] Former Chief Minister of Singapore David Marshall and then Member of the Legislative Assembly for Cairnhill resigned his seat on 30 April 1957.

[79] In the ensuing by-election, the ruling Labour Front Government only polled 19.23% compared to 47.58% in the general elections held two years back - a swing of 28.35%.

By 1961, the ruling PAP was on the verge of collapse due to internal rivalries from the leftists and from former Minister for National Development, Ong Eng Guan.

However, the subsequent by-election saw the Workers' Party Chairperson and former Chief Minister, David Marshall winning 43.32% of the votes with PAP coming in second - polling 36.75% (a loss of 24.00%).

The two by-election losses came at a time when PAP was struggling to keep its hard-fought majority in the Legislative Assembly due to strong internal rivalries and defections by the leftists.

On 12 December 2012, then Speaker of Parliament and incumbent MP for Punggol East SMC, Michael Palmer resigned his speakership and seat due to having an extra-marital affair.

The Old Parliament House, Singapore , which was used by the Legislative Assembly of the Colony of Singapore when it was formed in 1955. The first provision governing by-elections appeared in Singapore's 1955 Constitution.
In August 2008, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (seen here in June 2007) asserted during a parliamentary debate that the Constitution gave him discretion to decide whether or not a casual vacancy in Parliament should be filled
A public housing estate in Bukit Batok East in Jurong GRC , which was overseen by PAP MP Ong Chit Chung until his sudden death in July 2008. The following month, a debate took place in Parliament about whether by-elections should be made mandatory in some situations. Bukit Batok later became a single member constituency in the 2015 general election ; another vacancy later occurred in March 2016, and precipitated a by-election in May that year .
Yaw Shin Leong giving a speech in Serangoon Stadium as a Workers' Party candidate during the 2011 general election . He was duly elected, but his subsequent expulsion from the party led to a casual vacancy arising in Parliament, and court rulings on whether the Prime Minister had a discretion not to call a by-election.
Wong Kan Seng , who was Minister for Home Affairs in March 2006. During a 1999 parliamentary debate, he said that when Singaporeans living in GRCs vote in a general election, they are aware that a casual vacancy that may arise need not be filled through a by-election.
Gerald Giam , an NCMP during the 12th Parliament of Singapore , at a Workers' Party rally for the 2011 general election . NCMPs are only declared elected at general elections , and the law currently does not provide for casual vacancies arising in NCMPs' seats to be filled.