Despite Singapore's worst recession since 1964, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is assured of a 10th term in office after opposition parties named candidates for just 29 of 84 seats in the November 3 election. Know the history of the key political parties. Read on...
Friday October 26
History of PAP's hold on Singapore politics
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Despite Singapore's worst recession since 1964, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is assured of a 10th term in office after opposition parties named candidates for just 29 of 84 seats in the November 3 election.
Following is a chronology of the PAP's history:
1954: The PAP is formed by Lee Kuan Yew and others returning from tertiary studies in Britain. Lee pushes for early independence from Britain with economic expansion as a priority.
1959: Singapore becomes a self-governing state. The PAP wins 43 of 51 seats in elections. Lee becomes the first prime minister and purges the party of communists he accuses of threatening Singapore's internal security.
February 1960: Housing and Development Board is set up and undertakes massive building to meet a critical housing shortage.
September 1963: PAP wins general elections. Singapore joins the Federation of Malaysia, a grouping of former British territories in Southeast Asia. Lee serves as one of 15 representatives from Singapore to the parliament of Malaysia.
1963: Opposition to PAP paralysed by detention of 133 political dissidents.
July 1964: Race riots break out, leaving 23 dead and several hundred injured after Malay-Chinese tensions flare during a parade to mark the birthday of the Muslim prophet Mohammad. The tensions shape the PAP's call for multi-racialism.
August 9, 1965: Singapore splits from the Federation of Malaysia and Lee leads the island to independence as a republic.
April 1968: PAP wins election with 51 seats unopposed and victory in seven contested seats.
September 1972, December 1976, December 1980: Elections in which the PAP wins all parliamentary seats.
October 1981: PAP loses its 13-year monopoly in parliament when Workers' Party leader Joshua Jeyaretnam wins a by-election.
1981: Under Lee's pro-business policies, Singapore is found equal to the United States, Germany, Japan and Switzerland for profitability and opportunities by the Business Environment Risk Information report. Similar ratings continue in years ahead.
December 1984: PAP loses two of 79 seats as 37 percent of the popular vote goes against it. Lee names Defence Minister Goh Chok Tong as first deputy prime minister and his likely successor.
January 1985: Lee's son, Lee Hsien Loong, joins parliament in the dual role of defence minister and trade minister.
May-June 1987: Twenty-two people are detained without trial under the Internal Security Act and charged with involvement in a Marxist plot. All but one are released seven months later.
April 1988: Nine former detainees re-arrested after a joint statement repudiating earlier confessions and claiming they were tortured while in detention. The government denies the charge.
September 1988: PAP loses one of 81 seats but 38 percent of the popular votes go to opposition.
November 1990: Lee steps down as prime minister and takes up the advisory post as senior minister. Goh leads a team of younger PAP ministers including Lee Hsien Loong.
August 1991: PAP wins 77 of 81 seats in elections. Singapore Democratic Party takes three and the Workers' Party one.
January 1992: Lee Hsien Loong takes on role of deputy prime minister and minister for trade and industry.
1996: As a result of the national housing programme, about 86 percent of the population live in state-subsidised flats versus nine percent in the early 1960s.
January 1997: PAP takes 81 of 83 seats in a general election that boosts Goh's credibility as leader.
January 1997: Lee, Goh and other PAP leaders file suit against Workers' Party leaders Tang Liang Hong and Jeyaretnam over remarks during the campaign. Court awards them a record S$8.08 million against Tang.
August 1997: Hearings on the lawsuits against Jeyaretnam receive massive publicity, partly due to top London lawyers on both sides. Jeyaretnam's lawyer charges the suits are politically motivated, while the PAP lawyer counters that ministers are trying to defend themselves against unjust attacks.
July 2001: Jeyaretnam loses his appeal against a bankruptcy ruling after defaulting on defamation damages won by organisers of a Tamil newspaper. He loses his concessionary parliamentary seat and is barred from running in upcoming elections.
October 2001: The government unveils a S$11.3 billion ($6.2 billion) stimulus package a week before calling the November 3 poll, redraws the electoral map and introduces 25 new candidates.
October 25, 2001: The PAP returns to power on nomination day as fragmented opposition parties contest only 29 of 84 seats. Goh says Finance Minister Richard Hu will retire after the election.
Thursday October 25
FACTBOX-Key Singapore opposition parties
SINGAPORE, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Following is background on key Singapore opposition parties as the recession-hit city state gears up for an early general election on November 3.
The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) effectively won its 10th straight term in power on nomination day on Thursday, when the fragmented opposition contested just 29 seats in an expanded 84-seat parliament.
The 22 opposition parties held two of 83 seats in the last parliament and have won four seats, at most, in previous polls.
THE WORKERS' PARTY
Established in 1957, Singapore's oldest surviving opposition party is best known for its former chief, J.B. Jeyaretnam, who broke the PAP's 13-year parliamentary monopoly in 1981.
Jeyaretnam, a firebrand whose verbal jousts with then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has become the stuff of legend, stepped down in May as head of the party after 30 years.
Jeyaretnam lost his parliamentary seat and barred from contesting elections after losing a bankruptcy appeal. He quit the party days before campaigning began for the current election.
New Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang has held a parliamentary seat since 1991.
The party, a long-time champion of the working class, has set its sights on the "new poor" for the upcoming elections as Singapore battles in worst recession in more than 30 years.
SINGAPORE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Formed by veteran politician Chiam See Tong in 1980, the party won three of 81 seats in the 1991 elections -- the highest number held by any one opposition party.
Chiam lost his post to protege Chee Soon Juan in 1993 and quit the party in 1996 to form the Singapore People's Party.
Chee, a vocal advocate of free speech, was jailed for 12 days in 1999 for making speeches without a permit.
The party, a sharp critic of the government, aims to "eliminate all forms of authoritarianism" and "replace elitism with free competition and equal opportunity".
SINGAPORE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE
The four-party alliance groups Chiam's Singapore People's Party with the National Solidarity Party, Singapore Justice Party and the Malay-based Pertubohan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (Singapore Malay National Organisation).
Launched in July, the SDA marks the first time the opposition is trying to campaign under a common banner. The alliance hopes to steer the island state towards a two-party political system.
Chiam, who is chairman of the alliance, has held a seat in parliament since 1984.
