Politics of Singapore
Encyclopedia
The politics of Singapore takes the form of a parliamentary
republic
whereby the President of Singapore
is the head of state
, the Prime Minister of Singapore
is the head of government
, and of a multi-party system
. Executive power
is exercised by the cabinet. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government and is collectively responsible to Parliament. Like many countries in the world today, there are three separate branches of government: the legislature
, executive
and judiciary
, though not necessarily meaning that there is a separation of power
.
Legislative power is vested in both the government
and the Parliament of Singapore
. The legislature
is the parliament
, which consists of the president
as its head and a single chamber whose members are elected by popular vote. The role of the president as the head of state
has been, historically, largely ceremonial although the constitution was amended in 1991 to give the president some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary
, Civil Service and Singapore Armed Forces posts. He also exercises powers over civil service appointments and internal security
matters.
(PAP) since the 1959 general election when Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister (Singapore was then a self-governing state within the British Empire). The PAP has been in government and won every General Election since then. Singapore left the Commonwealth in 1963 to join the Federation of Malaysia, but was expelled from the Federation in 1965 after Lee Kuan Yew
disagreed with the federal government in Kuala Lumpur. Foreign political analysts and several opposition parties including the Workers' Party of Singapore
and the Singapore Democratic Party
(SDP) have argued that Singapore is a de facto
one-party state
.
The Economist Intelligence Unit classifies Singapore as a "hybrid" country, with authoritarian
and democratic elements. Freedom House
does not consider Singapore an "electoral democracy" and ranks the country as "partly free". Reporters Without Borders
ranked Singapore 140th out of 167 countries in its 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index.
It has also been alleged that the PAP employs censorship
, gerrymandering
and the filing of civil suits against the opposition for libel or slander
to impede their success. Several former and present members of the opposition, including Francis Seow
, J.B. Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan
perceive the Singaporean courts as favourable towards the government and the PAP due to a lack of separation of powers
. There are however three cases in which opposition leader Chiam See Tong
sued PAP ministers for defamation and successfully obtained damages before trial.
Jeyaretnam lost a series of suits to members of the PAP and was declared bankrupt
in 2001, effectively disqualifying
him from participating in future elections. Similar civil suits have been filed against Chee Soon Juan
, leader of the Singapore Democratic Party
. In 2005, filmmaker Martyn See shot a documentary on Chee called "Singapore Rebel" and was threatened with a lawsuit for making a "politically partisan" film, which is illegal in Singapore. In 2008, Chee Soon Juan
along with his sister Chee Siok Chin were again sentenced to jail for testimony they provided in court. Both have been made bankrupt and are prohibited from leaving the country.
image. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least-corrupt country in Asia
and amongst the top ten cleanest in the world by Transparency International
. The World Bank's governance indicators have also rated Singapore highly on rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness. However, it is widely perceived that some aspects of the political process, civil liberties, and political and human rights are lacking. Singapore is a member of Asian Network of Major Cities 21
.
Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and British Indian laws, including many elements of English common law, the PAP has also consistently rejected liberal democratic values
, which it typifies as Western
and states that there should not be a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a democracy. Laws restricting the freedom of speech
are justified by claims that they are intended to prohibit speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. For example, in September 2005, three blog
gers were convicted of sedition
for posting racist
remarks targeting minorities. Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning
and there are laws which allow capital punishment in Singapore
for first-degree murder
and drug trafficking
. Amnesty International
has criticised Singapore for having "possibly the highest execution rate in the world" per capita
. The Singapore Government responded by asserting it had the right as a sovereign state to impose the death penalty for serious offences.
The cabinet forms the executive of the government and it is answerable to parliament. It consist of sitting members of parliament and is headed by a prime minister, the head of government. The current prime minister is Lee Hsien Loong
.
Neither the prime minister nor members of the cabinet are elected by parliament. Instead, the prime minister is appointed by the president, who in his/her view is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the parliament. Cabinet members, also known as ministers, are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.
The cabinet in Singapore collectively decides the government's policies and has influence over lawmaking by introducing bills.
Ministers in Singapore are the highest paid politicians in the world, receiving a 60% salary raise in 2007 and as a result Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's pay jumped to S$3.1 million, five times the US$400,000 earned by President Barack Obama. Although there was a brief public outcry regarding the high salary in comparison to the size of the country governed, the government's firm stance was that this raise was required to ensure the continued efficiency and corruption-free status of Singapore's "world-class" government.
. It currently consists of 87 members of parliament. The maximum term of any one parliament is five years, after which a general election
must be held within three months of the dissolution of parliament
.
The 87 elected members of parliament
(MPs) are elected on a plurality voting
basis and represent either single-member constituencies
(SMCs) or group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). In GRCs, political parties field a team of between three to six candidates. At least one candidate in the team must belong to a minority race.
Formerly, there were no GRCs, and all constituencies of Singapore were represented by one member, but amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act in 1991 led to the creation of GRCs, thus creating a plurality voting system in the process.
This development has led to complaints from opposition parties that they are often unable to field one, let alone three or more candidates. Out of the 87 members of parliament, 10 are female. In the last general election in 2006
, the incumbent People's Action Party
(PAP) won 82 of the 84 seats, with the same configuration as the previous election in 2001
, but with a loss of 9% of the popular vote.
The constitution also provides for the appointment of other members of parliament not voted in at an election. Up to six Non-Constituency Members of Parliament
from the opposition political parties can be appointed. Currently, there is one Non-Constituency Member of Parliament.
A constitutional provision for the appointment of up to nine Nominated Members of Parliament
(NMPs) was made in 1990. NMPs are appointed by the president for a term of two and a half years on the recommendation of a Select Committee chaired by the Speaker of Parliament and are not connected to any political parties. In 2005, nine NMPs were sworn in, out of which five were female.
Both non-constituency and nominated members of parliament cannot vote on the following issues:
.
Each bill goes through several stages before it becomes a law. The first stage is a mere formality known as the first reading, where it is introduced without a debate. This is followed by the second reading, where members of parliament debate on the general principles of the bill. If parliament opposes the bill, it may vote to reject the bill.
If the bill goes through the second reading, the bill is sent to a Select Committee where every clause in the bill is examined. Members of parliament who support the bill in principle but do not agree with certain clauses can propose amendments to those clauses at this stage. Following its report back to parliament, the bill will go through its third reading where only minor amendments will be allowed before it is passed.
Most bills passed by parliament are scrutinised by the Presidential Council for Minority Rights
which makes a report to the Speaker of Parliament stating whether there are clauses in a bill which affects any racial or religious community. If approved by the council, the bill will be presented for the president's assent.
The last stage involves the granting of assent by the president, before the bill officially becomes a law.
and it is a codified constitution.
The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament
on the second and third readings. The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues from a tribunal consisting of not less than three judges of the Supreme Court. Singaporean courts, like the courts in Australia, cannot offer advisory opinion
on the constitutionality of laws.
Part IV of the constitution guarantees the following:
Part XII of the constitution allows the Parliament of Singapore
to enact legislation designed to stop or prevent subversion. Such legislation is valid even if it is inconsistent with Part IV of the constitution. The Internal Security Act
(ISA) is a legislation under such provision. In 1966, Chia Thye Poh
was detained under the ISA and was imprisoned for 23 years without trial.
, a former cabinet minister. He served as President from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999. Since then a presidential election has never taken place. After Ong Teng Cheong
, the government-appointed Presidential Elections Committee has disqualified all but one candidate. This candidate is then declared President and is referred to as the elected president. The president now exercises powers over the following:
However, the president must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers before he takes a decision on some of these matters. The council comprises:
A member of the council serves a six-year term and are eligible for re-appointment for further terms of four years each.
Similar to the Speech from the Throne
given by the heads of state in other parliamentary systems, the president delivers an address written by the government at the opening of parliament about what kind of policies to expect in the coming year. The current president is Tony Tan Keng Yam.
in Singapore since 1959 and there is universal suffrage
. The legal voting age is 21. The Elections Department of Singapore is responsible for the planning, preparation and conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections and of any national referendum in Singapore. It is a department under the Prime Minister's Office.
Paper ballot
s are still used in Singapore. However, there is a concern that voting secrecy might be compromised as ballot papers have serial numbers on them. As stated in the Elections Department website:
"...ballot papers can be examined only under strict conditions, and there are safeguards that make it extremely difficult to find out how any particular voter voted. After the count, all ballot papers and their counterfoils have to be sealed in the Supreme Court vault for six months, after which all the ballot papers and other election documents are destroyed. During those six months, these documents can only be retrieved by court order. The court will issue such an order only if it is satisfied that a vote has been fraudulently cast and the result of the election may be affected as a result. Our courts have issued no such order since elections have been held here since 1948."
, who succeeded Goh Chok Tong
. Goh's predecessor Lee Kuan Yew
served as Singapore's prime minister from independence through 1990. Since stepping down as prime minister, Lee has remained influential first as Senior Minister
, and now as Minister Mentor
.
PAP has held the overwhelming majority of seats in parliament since 1966, when the opposition Barisan Sosialis Party resigned from parliament and left the PAP as the sole representative party. PAP won all of the seats in an expanding parliament in the general elections of 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980. PAP's share of the popular vote in contested seats declined from 78% in 1980 to 65% in 1997. However, the elections of 2001 saw the party's share of the popular vote climb to 75%, winning 82 of the 84 seats. Singapore general election, 2006
marked the first time since 1988 the PAP did not return to power on nomination day, with the opposition parties fielding candidates in over half of the constituencies. Overall PAP saw its share of the vote fall to 66.6%.
became the first opposition party member of parliament in 15 years when he won a 1981 by-election
. Despite acquiring an increasing percentage of the popular vote—34% overall in 2006—opposition parties gained small numbers of seats in the general elections of 1984 (2 seats of 79), 1988 (1 seat of 81), 1991 (4 seats of 81), 1997 (2 seats of 83) and 2001 (2 seats of 84). The opposition parties attribute the disproportionate results to the nature of the GRC electoral system.
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
whereby the President of Singapore
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
is the head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
, the Prime Minister of Singapore
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the cabinet. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government and is collectively responsible to Parliament. Like many countries in the world today, there are three separate branches of government: the legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
and judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
, though not necessarily meaning that there is a separation of power
Separation of Power
Separation of Power is Vince Flynn's fourth novel, and the third to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counterterrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
.
Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and the Parliament of Singapore
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
. The legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
is the parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, which consists of the president
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
as its head and a single chamber whose members are elected by popular vote. The role of the president as the head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
has been, historically, largely ceremonial although the constitution was amended in 1991 to give the president some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
, Civil Service and Singapore Armed Forces posts. He also exercises powers over civil service appointments and internal security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
matters.
Political background
Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People's Action PartyPeople's Action Party
The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....
(PAP) since the 1959 general election when Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister (Singapore was then a self-governing state within the British Empire). The PAP has been in government and won every General Election since then. Singapore left the Commonwealth in 1963 to join the Federation of Malaysia, but was expelled from the Federation in 1965 after Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
disagreed with the federal government in Kuala Lumpur. Foreign political analysts and several opposition parties including the Workers' Party of Singapore
Workers' Party of Singapore
The Workers' Party of Singapore is a centre-left opposition political party in Singapore. The party currently has six elected seats in Parliament, with the party's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, Chairman Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao, Muhamad Faisal Manap and Pritam Singh serving as Members of...
and the Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...
(SDP) have argued that Singapore is a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
one-party state
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
.
The Economist Intelligence Unit classifies Singapore as a "hybrid" country, with authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
and democratic elements. Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
does not consider Singapore an "electoral democracy" and ranks the country as "partly free". Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
ranked Singapore 140th out of 167 countries in its 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index.
It has also been alleged that the PAP employs censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...
and the filing of civil suits against the opposition for libel or slander
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
to impede their success. Several former and present members of the opposition, including Francis Seow
Francis Seow
Francis Seow is a Singapore-born political dissident who is in exile from Singapore after lawsuits by the former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew. He was educated at Saint Joseph's Institution in Singapore and at the Middle Temple in London...
, J.B. Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan, PhD is a politician and political activist from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party ....
perceive the Singaporean courts as favourable towards the government and the PAP due to a lack of separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
. There are however three cases in which opposition leader Chiam See Tong
Chiam See Tong
Chiam See Tong is a politician and lawyer from Singapore. He is the country's longest-serving opposition Member of Parliament . Between 1984 and 2011, he represented the constituency of Potong Pasir in Singapore's Parliament....
sued PAP ministers for defamation and successfully obtained damages before trial.
Jeyaretnam lost a series of suits to members of the PAP and was declared bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in 2001, effectively disqualifying
Nomination rules
Nomination rules in elections regulate the conditions under which a candidate or political party is entitled to stand for election. The criteria to stand as a candidate depends on the individual legal system, however they may include the age of a candidate, citizenship, endorsement by a political...
him from participating in future elections. Similar civil suits have been filed against Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan, PhD is a politician and political activist from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party ....
, leader of the Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...
. In 2005, filmmaker Martyn See shot a documentary on Chee called "Singapore Rebel" and was threatened with a lawsuit for making a "politically partisan" film, which is illegal in Singapore. In 2008, Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan, PhD is a politician and political activist from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party ....
along with his sister Chee Siok Chin were again sentenced to jail for testimony they provided in court. Both have been made bankrupt and are prohibited from leaving the country.
Political climate
Although dominant in its activities, the government has a clean, corruption-freePolitical corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
image. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least-corrupt country in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and amongst the top ten cleanest in the world by Transparency International
Transparency International
Transparency International is a non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide...
. The World Bank's governance indicators have also rated Singapore highly on rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness. However, it is widely perceived that some aspects of the political process, civil liberties, and political and human rights are lacking. Singapore is a member of Asian Network of Major Cities 21
Asian Network of Major Cities 21
Asian Network of Major Cities 21 is a body representing the interests of several of Asia's largest capital cities around common themes of importance, including urban planning, sustainability and crisis management. This organization was advocated by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara...
.
Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and British Indian laws, including many elements of English common law, the PAP has also consistently rejected liberal democratic values
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
, which it typifies as Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and states that there should not be a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a democracy. Laws restricting the freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
are justified by claims that they are intended to prohibit speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. For example, in September 2005, three blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers were convicted of sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
for posting racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
remarks targeting minorities. Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning
Caning
Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks or hand . Application of a cane to the knuckles or the shoulders has been much less common...
and there are laws which allow capital punishment in Singapore
Capital punishment in Singapore
Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment in Singapore. The city-state had the highest per-capita execution rate in the world between 1994 and 1999, estimated by the United Nations to be 1.357 executions per hundred thousand of population during that period. The next highest was Turkmenistan...
for first-degree murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
has criticised Singapore for having "possibly the highest execution rate in the world" per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
. The Singapore Government responded by asserting it had the right as a sovereign state to impose the death penalty for serious offences.
Cabinet
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....
.
Neither the prime minister nor members of the cabinet are elected by parliament. Instead, the prime minister is appointed by the president, who in his/her view is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the parliament. Cabinet members, also known as ministers, are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.
The cabinet in Singapore collectively decides the government's policies and has influence over lawmaking by introducing bills.
Ministers in Singapore are the highest paid politicians in the world, receiving a 60% salary raise in 2007 and as a result Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's pay jumped to S$3.1 million, five times the US$400,000 earned by President Barack Obama. Although there was a brief public outcry regarding the high salary in comparison to the size of the country governed, the government's firm stance was that this raise was required to ensure the continued efficiency and corruption-free status of Singapore's "world-class" government.
Parliament
The unicameral Singaporean parliament is the legislature in Singapore with the president as its head. Before independence in 1965, it was known as the Legislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
. It currently consists of 87 members of parliament. The maximum term of any one parliament is five years, after which a general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
must be held within three months of the dissolution of parliament
Dissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
.
The 87 elected members of parliament
Members of the Singapore Parliament
The following is a historical list of members for the current and past ten Parliaments of Singapore:-See also:*1st Parliament of Singapore*2nd Parliament of Singapore*3rd Parliament of Singapore*4th Parliament of Singapore*5th Parliament of Singapore...
(MPs) are elected on a plurality voting
Plurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
basis and represent either single-member constituencies
Constituencies of Singapore
Constituencies in Singapore are electoral divisions which may be represented by single or multiple seats in the Parliament of Singapore. Constituencies are classified as either single member or group representation constituencies...
(SMCs) or group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). In GRCs, political parties field a team of between three to six candidates. At least one candidate in the team must belong to a minority race.
Formerly, there were no GRCs, and all constituencies of Singapore were represented by one member, but amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act in 1991 led to the creation of GRCs, thus creating a plurality voting system in the process.
This development has led to complaints from opposition parties that they are often unable to field one, let alone three or more candidates. Out of the 87 members of parliament, 10 are female. In the last general election in 2006
Singapore general election, 2006
The 2006 Singapore parliamentary general election was held on 6 May 2006. 1.22 million out of the 2.16 million eligible Singaporeans voted for Members of Parliament and elected their next government. The People's Action Party , in its first election under Lee Hsien Loong, won 66.6% of the overall...
, the incumbent People's Action Party
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....
(PAP) won 82 of the 84 seats, with the same configuration as the previous election in 2001
Singapore general election, 2001
The Singapore parliamentary general elections of 2001 were held on 3 November. The People's Action Party, the incumbent ruling party, won 82 out of 84 seats in the election, including 55 walkovers...
, but with a loss of 9% of the popular vote.
The constitution also provides for the appointment of other members of parliament not voted in at an election. Up to six Non-Constituency Members of Parliament
Non-Constituency Member of Parliament
Non-Constituency Members of Parliament are members of the opposition parties who are appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though they had lost in the parliamentary election....
from the opposition political parties can be appointed. Currently, there is one Non-Constituency Member of Parliament.
A constitutional provision for the appointment of up to nine Nominated Members of Parliament
Nominated Member of Parliament
A Nominated Member of Parliament is a Member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed instead of being elected into office by the people, and who does not belong to any political party or represent any constituency. There are currently nine NMPs in Parliament...
(NMPs) was made in 1990. NMPs are appointed by the president for a term of two and a half years on the recommendation of a Select Committee chaired by the Speaker of Parliament and are not connected to any political parties. In 2005, nine NMPs were sworn in, out of which five were female.
Both non-constituency and nominated members of parliament cannot vote on the following issues:
- amendment of the constitutionConstitutional amendmentA constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
- public fundsBudgetA budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
- vote of no confidence in the government
- removing the president from office
Legislative process
Before any law is passed, it is first introduced in parliament as a draft known as a bill. Bills are usually introduced by a minister on behalf of the cabinet, known as Government Bill. However, any member of parliament can introduce a bill, known as a Private Member's Bill. All bills must go through three readings in parliament and receive the president's assent to become an Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
.
Each bill goes through several stages before it becomes a law. The first stage is a mere formality known as the first reading, where it is introduced without a debate. This is followed by the second reading, where members of parliament debate on the general principles of the bill. If parliament opposes the bill, it may vote to reject the bill.
If the bill goes through the second reading, the bill is sent to a Select Committee where every clause in the bill is examined. Members of parliament who support the bill in principle but do not agree with certain clauses can propose amendments to those clauses at this stage. Following its report back to parliament, the bill will go through its third reading where only minor amendments will be allowed before it is passed.
Most bills passed by parliament are scrutinised by the Presidential Council for Minority Rights
Presidential Council for Minority Rights
The Presidential Council for Minority Rights is a non-elected government body in Singapore established in 1970, the main function of which is to scrutinize most of the bills passed by Parliament to ensure that they do not discriminate against any racial or religious community...
which makes a report to the Speaker of Parliament stating whether there are clauses in a bill which affects any racial or religious community. If approved by the council, the bill will be presented for the president's assent.
The last stage involves the granting of assent by the president, before the bill officially becomes a law.
Constitution
The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and it is a codified constitution.
The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
on the second and third readings. The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues from a tribunal consisting of not less than three judges of the Supreme Court. Singaporean courts, like the courts in Australia, cannot offer advisory opinion
Advisory opinion
An advisory opinion is an opinion issued by a court that does not have the effect of adjudicating a specific legal case, but merely advises on the constitutionality or interpretation of a law. Some countries have procedures by which the executive or legislative branches may certify important...
on the constitutionality of laws.
Part IV of the constitution guarantees the following:
- liberty of a person (limited).
- prohibition of slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and forced labour - protection against retrospective criminal lawsEx post facto lawAn ex post facto law or retroactive law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law...
and repeated trialsDouble jeopardyDouble jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction... - equal protection
- prohibition of banishmentExileExile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
and freedom of movementFreedom of movementFreedom of movement, mobility rights or the right to travel is a human right concept that the constitutions of numerous states respect... - freedom of speechFreedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, assemblyFreedom of assemblyFreedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
and associationFreedom of associationFreedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
(limited) - freedom of religionFreedom of religionFreedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
(limited). - right to educationRight to educationThe right to education is a universal entitlement to education, a right that is recognized as a human right. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to...
Part XII of the constitution allows the Parliament of Singapore
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
to enact legislation designed to stop or prevent subversion. Such legislation is valid even if it is inconsistent with Part IV of the constitution. The Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Singapore)
The Internal Security Act of Singapore is a law that allows the Singapore government to investigate security threats like international terrorism, foreign subversion, espionage and acts of violence or hatred using race or religion...
(ISA) is a legislation under such provision. In 1966, Chia Thye Poh
Chia Thye Poh
Chia Thye Poh was the longest-serving political prisoner in the history of Singapore and perhaps the longest-serving prisoner of conscience of the 20th century, if not one of its longest-serving political prisoners....
was detained under the ISA and was imprisoned for 23 years without trial.
President
Prior to 1991, the president was the head of state appointed by parliament and was largely a ceremonial role with some reserve powers. As a result of constitutional changes in 1991, the president is now directly elected to office for a six-year term by popular vote. The only directly-elected President since the constitutional change was Ong Teng CheongOng Teng Cheong
Ong Teng Cheong was the first directly elected President of the Republic of Singapore. He was the nation's fifth President, and served a six-year term from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999.-Early life:...
, a former cabinet minister. He served as President from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999. Since then a presidential election has never taken place. After Ong Teng Cheong
Ong Teng Cheong
Ong Teng Cheong was the first directly elected President of the Republic of Singapore. He was the nation's fifth President, and served a six-year term from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999.-Early life:...
, the government-appointed Presidential Elections Committee has disqualified all but one candidate. This candidate is then declared President and is referred to as the elected president. The president now exercises powers over the following:
- appointment of public officers
- government budgets
- examine government's exercise of its powers under the Internal Security Act
- examine government's exercise of its powers under religious harmony laws
- investigations into cases of corruption
However, the president must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers before he takes a decision on some of these matters. The council comprises:
- two members appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
- one member appointed by the president on the advice of the chief justice
- one member appointed by the president on the advice of the chairman of the Public Service Commission
A member of the council serves a six-year term and are eligible for re-appointment for further terms of four years each.
Similar to the Speech from the Throne
Speech from the Throne
A speech from the throne is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign reads a prepared speech to a complete session of parliament, outlining the government's agenda for the coming session...
given by the heads of state in other parliamentary systems, the president delivers an address written by the government at the opening of parliament about what kind of policies to expect in the coming year. The current president is Tony Tan Keng Yam.
Elections and political parties
Voting has been compulsoryCompulsory voting
Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...
in Singapore since 1959 and there is universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
. The legal voting age is 21. The Elections Department of Singapore is responsible for the planning, preparation and conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections and of any national referendum in Singapore. It is a department under the Prime Minister's Office.
Paper ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
s are still used in Singapore. However, there is a concern that voting secrecy might be compromised as ballot papers have serial numbers on them. As stated in the Elections Department website:
"...ballot papers can be examined only under strict conditions, and there are safeguards that make it extremely difficult to find out how any particular voter voted. After the count, all ballot papers and their counterfoils have to be sealed in the Supreme Court vault for six months, after which all the ballot papers and other election documents are destroyed. During those six months, these documents can only be retrieved by court order. The court will issue such an order only if it is satisfied that a vote has been fraudulently cast and the result of the election may be affected as a result. Our courts have issued no such order since elections have been held here since 1948."
People's Action Party
The PAP has been the dominant political party in Singapore, re-elected continuously since 1959. It is headed by Lee Hsien LoongLee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....
, who succeeded Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...
. Goh's predecessor Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
served as Singapore's prime minister from independence through 1990. Since stepping down as prime minister, Lee has remained influential first as Senior Minister
Senior Minister
Senior Minister is a political office in the political system of Singapore taken by a prime minister or senior cabinet minister when he or she retires from that office, but still has something to offer the government based on his or her long experience...
, and now as Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor is a Singapore cabinet position created in 2004 as part of a leadership transition.The newly appointed Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong , announced Lee Kuan Yew's new title together with the naming of his Cabinet on August 12, 2004...
.
PAP has held the overwhelming majority of seats in parliament since 1966, when the opposition Barisan Sosialis Party resigned from parliament and left the PAP as the sole representative party. PAP won all of the seats in an expanding parliament in the general elections of 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980. PAP's share of the popular vote in contested seats declined from 78% in 1980 to 65% in 1997. However, the elections of 2001 saw the party's share of the popular vote climb to 75%, winning 82 of the 84 seats. Singapore general election, 2006
Singapore general election, 2006
The 2006 Singapore parliamentary general election was held on 6 May 2006. 1.22 million out of the 2.16 million eligible Singaporeans voted for Members of Parliament and elected their next government. The People's Action Party , in its first election under Lee Hsien Loong, won 66.6% of the overall...
marked the first time since 1988 the PAP did not return to power on nomination day, with the opposition parties fielding candidates in over half of the constituencies. Overall PAP saw its share of the vote fall to 66.6%.
Opposition parties
J.B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' PartyWorkers' Party of Singapore
The Workers' Party of Singapore is a centre-left opposition political party in Singapore. The party currently has six elected seats in Parliament, with the party's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, Chairman Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao, Muhamad Faisal Manap and Pritam Singh serving as Members of...
became the first opposition party member of parliament in 15 years when he won a 1981 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. Despite acquiring an increasing percentage of the popular vote—34% overall in 2006—opposition parties gained small numbers of seats in the general elections of 1984 (2 seats of 79), 1988 (1 seat of 81), 1991 (4 seats of 81), 1997 (2 seats of 83) and 2001 (2 seats of 84). The opposition parties attribute the disproportionate results to the nature of the GRC electoral system.