Singaporean Parliament

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Singaporean Parliament
logo Parliament building
logo Parliament building
Basic data
Seat: Parliament House, Singapore
Legislative period : 5 years
First session: August 9, 1965
MPs: 95
93 regular
2 NCMPs
probably 9 NMPs
Current legislative period
Last choice: July 10, 2020
Next choice: probably 2025
Chair: Tan Chuan-Jin (PAP)
    
Distribution of seats: Government (83)
  • PAP 83
    • Opposition (12)
  • WP 10
  • NCMPs 2
    • Neutral (9)
  • NMPs 9
    • Vacant (0)
  • Vacant 0
    		•
    Website
    https://www.parliament.gov.sg/

    The Parliament of Singapore is a unicameral parliament after the Westminster system with 93 regular deputies. In addition, up to 18 other MPs can be appointed.

    Composition and function

    The parliament consists of 93 members who are regularly elected every five years. In addition, a parliamentary selection committee appoints up to nine Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) who are not allowed to belong to any political party and do not represent a specific constituency. The NMPs are not allowed to vote on budget votes, financial or constitutional laws, a vote of no confidence in the government, or the initiation of impeachment proceedings for the president. Their term of office is 2.5 years.

    In addition, the President appoints up to twelve defeated opposition candidates, the Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs), in order to ensure sufficient representation of the opposition in parliament. The number of NCMPs is calculated from the difference between twelve possible NCMPs and the number of opposition seats obtained in the election. Until 2017, the NCMPs were also exempt from the above decisions. Since April 2017, the NCMPs have had the same right to vote and co-determination as the regularly elected MPs.

    According to the Constitution, the main functions of parliament are control of the government and the legislature. In view of the constitutional reality, however, both tasks are put into perspective: Control instruments such as requesting a question time or written inquiries to the government are available, but these are rarely used. On the one hand, this is due to the identity of the government and parliamentary majority; on the other hand, the lack of strong opposition also contributes to inadequate control. With regard to legislation, legislative initiatives by the members of parliament are in principle possible, but represent an exception. The fact that legislative powers have also increasingly been transferred to the government over time ensures that many legal norms come about outside of parliament. Accordingly, Parliament primarily fulfills other functions:

    • "Legitimacy function" with regard to the standard-setting procedure
    • "Cooptation function" by integrating the opposition into a constitutional institution
    • "Feedback function" through the citizens' right to petition
    • Integration of minorities
    • "Linkage function" through the intermediary role of parliamentary majority members between the government and the constituency level

    Electoral system

    Universal male and female suffrage was introduced in Singapore in 1959. A formal compulsory election has existed since 1963, but violations are usually not punished.

    All citizens of Singapore over the age of 21 who are resident in Germany have the right to vote unless they are insane, sentenced to death or imprisonment for more than twelve months, or for election fraud. Since 2001, citizens with permanent residence abroad can also cast their votes in some diplomatic missions abroad. Citizens over 21 years of age who are not mentally ill, insolvent or have immigrated illegally and are not under guardianship are eligible. Members of the election commission, judges and civil servants may not be MPs at the same time. Candidates must be able to read and write at least one of the four languages ​​Malay, Mandarin, Tamil or English. Before the election, candidates must leave a deposit equal to a monthly parliamentary allowance (in 2020 that was 13,500 SGD), which is refunded to candidates who receive at least 12.5% ​​of the votes in the relevant constituency.

    The directly elected representatives are in 14 One constituencies ( single member constituency SMC) and 17 more persons constituencies ( group representation constituency must GRC) with four to six seats, wherein one of the selected representatives of the Malay, Indian or other minority belong directly in relative majority vote chosen . If a member of parliament is unable to fill his mandate by the end of the legislative period, a by-election is held.

    The democratic principles of a general, equal, direct and secret election are only partially fulfilled. For example, some election observers see the numbering of the ballot papers as an opportunity for the government to understand individual voting behavior. Equal opportunities for candidates with regard to candidacy and election campaigns are also not given. The discrepancy between the opposition's share of the vote and the seats allocated to it is due to the strong disproportionate effect of the electoral system, the rules of the election campaign and the layout of the constituencies (" gerrymandering "). The People's Action Party (PAP) gained around 61% of the vote in 2020, but with 83 it received around 89% of the 93 regular seats in parliament. Ultimately, it can be stated that the parliamentary elections definitely benefit the ruling PAP party:

    " Elections serve to secure the rule of the PAP in three ways. First, the social acceptance of their government is also based on confirmation by the voters (legitimation function) Third, the opposition can be integrated into the regime structures through the appointment of MPs without constituencies (NCMPs) (cooptation function). "

    General election 2006

    The 2006 general election took place on May 6th. Parliament was dissolved early on April 20. It was the first general election under the government of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong , the son of State founder Lee Kuan Yew . 55 candidates from his People's Action Party were unopposed. The Workers' Party of Low Thia Khiang and the Democratic Alliance of Chiam See Tong presented each of twenty candidates, Democratic Alliance of Chee Soon Juan seven.

    Because of the compulsory voting, participation is traditionally high; in 2006 it was 94.01%. The party composition of the new parliament was identical to that of the previous elected in 2001.

    Political party be right Seats
    People's Action Party (PAP) 747.860 82
    Workers' Party of Singapore (WP) 183,604 1
    Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) 145.902 1
    Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) 45,634 0

    In addition to the elected MPs, there are one NCMP and nine NMPs, making the total number of MPs 94.

    Parliamentary elections 2011

    The elections took place on May 7, 2011. The following distribution of seats resulted:

    Political party be right Seats
    People's Action Party (PAP) 1,210,617 81
    Workers' Party of Singapore (WP) 258.141 6th
    National Solidarity Party (NSP) 242,369 0
    Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) 97.239 0
    Reform Party (Reform) 86,174 0
    Singapore People's Party (SPP) 62.504 0
    Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) 55,932 0
    total 2,012,976 87
    Invalid votes 44,714
    Non-voters 292.913
    Total number of voters 2,350,873

    The situation was particularly tight in the Potong Pasir constituency, which had been in the opposition for several elections. This year's SPP representative Lina Chiam missed the victory by 114 votes.

    General election 2015

    The elections to the parliament were brought forward and found accordingly place already on September 11, 2015. The following distribution of seats resulted:

    Political party be right Votes in% Seats
    People's Action Party (PAP) 1,576,784 69.86 83
    Workers' Party of Singapore (WP) 281,697 12.48 6th
    Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) 84,770 3.76 0
    National Solidarity Party (NSP) 79,780 3.53 0
    Reform Party (RP) 59,432 2.63 0
    Singaporeans First (SingFirst) 50,791 2.25 0
    Singapore People's Party (SPP) 49.015 2.17 0
    Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) 46.508 2.06 0
    People's Power Party (PPP) 25,460 1.13 0
    Independents 2,779 0.12 0
    total 2,257,016 97.95 89
    Invalid votes 47,315 2.05
    Non-voters 158,595
    Total number of voters 2,462,926

    Parliamentary elections 2020

    The parliamentary elections were also brought forward in 2020 and took place on July 10, 2020. The opposition criticized the fact that the elections were held despite the ongoing corona pandemic , pointing to the dangers for the population and complaining about the disadvantage caused by the lack of election campaign events. The 2020 parliamentary elections are also of great importance for the governing party PAP , as the previous head of government Lee Hsien Loong is about to change power within the party . The turnout was 94%.

    The following distribution of seats resulted in the parliamentary elections:

    Political party be right Votes in% (in

    Constituencies in brackets)

    		Votes in% (total) Seats (+ NCMP's)
    People's Action Party (PAP) 1,524,781 61.24 (31) 61.24 83
    Workers' Party of Singapore (WP) 279.245 50.49 (6) 11.22 10
    Progress Singapore Party (PSP) 253,459 40.85 (9) 10.18 0 (+2)
    Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) 110,827 37.04 (5) 4.45 0
    National Solidarity Party (NSP) 93,546 33.15 (2) 3.76 0
    People's Voice (PV) 59,060 21.26 (3) 2.37 0
    Reform Party (RP) 54.505 27.84 (2) 2.19 0
    Singapore People's Party (SPP) 37,869 25.38 (2) 1.52 0
    Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) 37.179 33.83 (1) 1.49 0
    Red Dot United (RDU) 31.191 23.67 (1) 1.25 0
    People's Power Party (PPP) 7,477 28.26 (1) 0.30 0
    Independent 654 2.78 (1) 0.03 0
    total 2,489,793 100 93 (+2)
    Invalid votes 45,772
    Non-voters 115,870
    Total number of voters 2,651,435

    The opposition succeeded in a surprise in the four-person constituency of Sengkang, which the Workers' Party won against the People's Action Party (41.9%) with 52.17% of the vote .

    On July 14, 2020, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), the strongest opposition party without mandates and therefore "best losers", announced that it would send Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa as NCMPs to parliament.

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ Aurel Croissant : The political systems of Southeast Asia. An introduction . Wiesbaden 2016, p. 449 f .
    2. ^ Members of Parliament - Parliament Of Singapore. In: parliament.gov.sg. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
    3. ^ Parliamentary Elections Act s. 52 (1). Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
    4. ^ PM Lee Hsien Loong: NCMPs to get equal voting rights as MPs. January 27, 2016, accessed July 14, 2020 .
    5. ↑ Aurel Croissant: The political systems of Southeast Asia. An introduction . Wiesbaden 2016, p. 450 f .
    6. ↑ Aurel Croissant: The political systems of Southeast Asia. An introduction . Wiesbaden 2016, p. 598 .
    7. ^ A b Yeo Lay Hwee: Electoral Politics in Singapore . In: Aurel Croissant et al. (Ed.): Electoral Politics in Southeast & East Asia. Singapore 2002.
    8. ↑ Elections Department: Press Release on General Election 2020. (PDF) June 23, 2020, accessed on July 15, 2020 (English).
    9. ^ Aurel Croissant et al .: Democratization and civilian control in Asia . Houndmills 2013, p. 8 .
    10. ^ Dieter Nohlen: Suffrage and party system . Opladen & Farmington Hills 2009, p. 276 f .
    11. ↑ a b General Election 2020 - Results. July 10, 2020, accessed July 11, 2020 .
    12. ↑ Aurel Croissant: The political systems of Southeast Asia. An introduction . Wiesbaden 2016, p. 455 .
    13. ↑ [1] report on channelnewsasia.com
    14. ↑ "Stormy Times": Singapore is voting in the pandemic. June 23, 2020, accessed July 11, 2020 .
    15. ↑ GE2020: Full Results. July 10, 2020, accessed on July 11, 2020 .
    16. ↑ Singapore's ruling party wins easily — but its vote falls sharply. July 10, 2020, accessed on July 11, 2020 .
    17. ↑ PSP's West Coast team to be offered two NCMP seats as 'best losers'. July 11, 2020, accessed on July 14, 2020 .
    18. ^ PSP chooses assistant secretary-general Leong Mun Wai and vice-chairman Hazel Poa as NCMPs. July 14, 2020, accessed on July 14, 2020 .

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