1959 elections Flashcards
brief description of 1959 elections
- divided into 51 constituencies (meaning 51 seats up for grabs) , 13 parties and 194 candidates stood for election
- pap won by a landslide with 43/51 seats they contested for
- spa (new lf) only won 4/39 seats they contested for
enthusiasm of parties during 1959 elections
ENTHUSIASTIC, used radio broadcasts, newspapers, pamphlets to spread ideas, vehicles with loudspeakers to broadcast party slogans and held election rallies attended by large crowds
why did singapore peoples alliance win so little seats?
- lim yew hock’s credibility declined and he lost support since he successfully alienated the chinese population which made up majority of the electorate
- chinese community regarded SPA as an anti-chinese party since his aggressive methods were too harsh
- chinese voters wanted to punish him at ballot box (especially bad as citizenship ordinance allowed for 220000 more chinese voters)
why did pap win (broad categories)
- loss of support towards SPA
- election promises
- how it campaigned
- promised to release communists
why did pap win (in terms of SPA losing support)
- in a better position to capture votes from the low-income chinese-educated masses since SPA lost appeal among them
- leveraged on downfall of SPA and reaped the benefits
why did pap win (6 election promises)
promised that if they won, they would
- attain independence through merger with malaya
- promote industrial development and set up an economic development board
- build more schools
- build a strong and united trade union movement
- carry out a low-cost housing programme
- raise the status of women and introduce a women’s charter
why did pap win (through campaign efforts)
- pitched its programme to a broad-based electorate (needs of the people), in particular to appeal to chinese voters
- shifted focus on elections being a competition between political parties to one that engaged voters (chamber politics to mass politics)
why did pap win (due with communists)
- many chinese supported communists due to their exploitation of chinese chauvinism (how they identified with china and placed esteem on cultural roots)
- brought into ranks the communists and promised to release them from prison
- strategic and practical: could not survive by making enemies with communists until they built a strong enough moderate base
- recognised had to work with leftist elements for time being
1959 elections vs 1955 elections
- level of autonomy: no finance, law, external affairs, external defence, internal security vs everything but external defence and affairs + shared internal security
- fully elected legislature: 3 british ministers vs all members of legislative assembly locals
- number of voters: 1 unit vs 3 units
why were there so many voters in 1959 elections
- compulsory voting introduced
- citizenship ordinance (enabled 320000 migrants to become citizens and be eligible to vote, 220000 of which were chinese)
