List of political parties in Singapore
This is a list of political parties in Singapore, including existing and historical ones. The earliest political parties were either branches of parent parties in Malaya, or were established in the lead-up to Singapore first Legislative Council elections in 1948. Amongst the oldest parties, the Malay Union, traced its history back to 14 May 1926, was initially a non-political association as the party only participated in the 1955 election. The Progressive Party and Labour Party, both established in the late 1940s, were some of the pioneering local establishments, with the PP the only party to contest in the first elections in 1948, and the LP coming on board in 1951. By 1955, the fledgling British colony had seven parties contesting, and reached a pinnacle of 13 parties in 1959. A total of three parties were established in the 1940s, 12 in the 1950s and five in the 1960s.
In post-independence Singapore, the dominance of the People's Action Party, which first came into power in 1959, somewhat cooled the flurry of political activism. On 16 May 1960, a new Societies Ordinance was passed, and in December 1966, local parties were forbidden from being affiliated to foreign ones. This directly impacted the handful of small Malaysia-linked parties, most of which renamed themselves and/or cut formal foreign ties. The PAP's dominance and Singapore's economic advancement further weakened the smaller opposition parties. To date, 13 parties have officially dissolved, mostly through mergers with other parties.
Still, new parties continued to be established. Seven new parties were formed in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s, three in the 2000s, and six in the 2010s. The newest party to be registered is Red Dot United, on 15 June 2020. There are therefore a total of 30 registered political parties today, of which ten have never contested in an election.
Over the years, alliances between political parties existed, but were however short-lived. Presently, only one functioning multi-party alliance, the Singapore Democratic Alliance, which was formed on 3 July 2001, initially composed of the Singapore People's Party, National Solidarity Party, Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura and the Justice Party, Singapore, with the SPP being the lead party. The vision was to bring all opposition parties under one banner to counter the PAP's dominance, but it was met with limited success. The NSP left the alliance in 2007, and in 2010, the SPP itself left when there was internal disagreements over the SPP's attempts to bring in the newly formed Reform Party.
Legislation
Under the current legislation, all political parties must be registered under the Societies Act. As such, the following rules pertaining to political associations apply:- All members of political parties must be Singaporean citizens.
- Political Association must not be affiliated or connected with any organisation outside Singapore. The fact that a political association uses a name or symbol which is the same as that of an organisation outside Singapore shall be deemed to be sufficient evidence that the political association has an affiliation or connection with that organisation.
Under the Political Donations Act which came into force on 15 February 2001, Political Associations are also barred from accepting any donation in cash or kind from impermissible donors, or from anonymous donors where the value exceeds S$5,000. The government announced that it was to "prevent foreigners from interfering in domestic politics through the financial support for any association's cause", and cited an example of a case in 1959 when S$700,000 was sent to Chew Swee Kee, then Education Minister from the Singapore People's Alliance by a "neighbouring intelligence service in a "black operation" against the interests of Singapore". Another case was also cited pertaining to foreign financial support for Francis Seow of the Workers' Party in 1988. Critics noted that the Singapore government itself was responsible for giving $20,000 to Australian political parties through Optus, although the motives and details of the donation remain unverified.
Political parties
There have been a total of 43 political parties in Singapore.Party or Alliance active
Party or Alliance active, but collated to another party or alliance
Party or Alliance dissolved
Party or Alliance registered, but is yet to contest
Party or Alliance's status unknown
| Party | Alternative name | Established | Registered | Dissolved | Elections Contested | Incumbent Leader | URL | Facebook URL |
新加坡联盟党 Parti Perikatan Singapura | Singapore Alliance, Perikatan Singapura | NA | 1 | NA | - | |||
Islamic Movement 回教阵线 | Pan-Malayan Islamic Party Persatuan Islam Setanah Melayu | – | NA | 4 | NA | |||
社会主义阵线 | – | 5 | NA | |||||
公民党 Parti Warganegara | – | – | 1 | NA | ||||
民主党 Parti Demokratik | – | – | 1 | NA | ||||
民主进步党 Parti Demokratik Progresif | United Front Singapore United Front | 16 March 1973 | NA | 6 | Mohamad Hamim Aliyas | |||
新加坡正义党 Parti Keadilan Singapura | Singapore Justice Party | – | NA | 10 | Desmond Lim Bak Chuan | |||
加东居民统一工会 Persatuan Penduduk Bersatu Katong | – | – | 1 | NA | ||||
劳工阵线 Barisan Buroh | – | – | 2 | NA | ||||
劳工党 Parti Buroh | – | – | 1 | NA | ||||
自由社会党 Parti Liberal Sosialis | – | 1 | NA | |||||
新加坡国民党 Parti Nasional Singapura | – | – | NA | 0 | NA | |||
国民团结党 Parti Perpaduan Nasional | – | – | NA | 8 | Spencer Ng Chung Hon | |||
人民行动党 Parti Tindakan Rakyat | – | NA | 16 | Lee Hsien Loong | ||||
人民阵线 Barisan Rakyat | – | – | NA | 2 | NA | |||
Singapore Malay National Organisation 新加坡马来国民机构 | Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu or United Malays National Organisation | NA | 13 | Abu Mohamed | ||||
United Democratic Party 民主统一党 | – | – | NA | 1 | NA | |||
人民自由民主党 Parti Liberal Demokratik Rakyat | – | – | NA | 0 | NA | |||
Singapore Malays Association 新加坡马来人协会 | – | – | NA | 0 | NA | |||
Parti Kemajuan Singapura 新加坡前进党 முன்னேற்றம் சிங்கப்பூர் கட்சி | – | NA | 1 | Tan Cheng Bock | ||||
进步党 Parti Progresif | – | – | 3 | NA | ||||
人民力量党 Parti Kuasa Rakyat | – | – | NA | 2 | Goh Meng Seng | |||
People's Party 人民党 | – | NA | 2 | NA | ||||
人民共和党 Parti Rakyat Republik | – | – | NA | 0 | NA | |||
人民之声 | – | – | NA | 1 | Lim Tean | |||
红点同心党 | – | 26 May 2020 | NA | 1 | Ravi Philemon | |||
革新党 Parti Reformasi | – | – | NA | 3 | Kenneth Jeyaretnam | |||
新加坡国民大会党 Kongres Singapura | – | – | 0 | NA | ||||
新加坡华人党 Parti Cina Singapura | Malayan Chinese Association | – | NA | 3 | NA | |||
新加坡民主联盟 Perikatan Demokratik Singapura | – | – | NA | 5 | Desmond Lim Bak Chuan | |||
新加坡民主党 Parti Demokratik Singapura | – | NA | 10 | Chee Soon Juan | ||||
社会主义阵线 Socialist Front | – | – | NA | 0 | NA | |||
国人为先 Warga Diutamakan | – | 1 | NA | |||||
新加坡印度国民大会党 Kongres India Singapura | Singapore Regional Indian Congress Malayan Indian Congress | NA | 1 | NA | ||||
新加坡马来人联合会 Kesatuan Melayu Singapura | – | – | 2 | NA | ||||
新加坡国民阵线 Barisan Nasional Singapura | – | – | NA | 0 | NA | |||
新加坡人民联盟 Perikatan Rakyat Singapura | – | – | 1 | NA | ||||
新加坡人民党 Parti Rakyat Singapura | – | – | NA | 6 | Steve Chia Kiah Hong | |||
联合国民阵线 Barisan Nasional Bersatu | – | – | NA | 1 | NA | |||
人民联合阵线 Barisan Rakyat Bersatu | – | – | NA | 4 | NA | |||
人民团结党 Parti Ra'ayat Bersatu | – | – | 1 | NA | ||||
团结新加坡民主党 Demokrat Singapura Bersatu | – | – | NA | 0 | NA | |||
工人党 Parti Pekerja | – | NA | 15 | Pritam Singh | ||||
| Party | Alternative name | Established | Registered | Dissolved | Elections Contested | Incumbent Leader | URL | Facebook URL |
- The tally does not include city council elections, by-elections, Malaysian parliamentary elections or presidential elections.
- The party was contested under the coalition of Singapore People's Party.
- The party was contested under the coalition of Singapore Democratic Alliance.
- The party was contested under the coalition of United People's Front.
Other defunct parties
- Malayan Communist Party
- Malayan Democratic Union
- Singapore Socialist Party
Shirt colours
| Party | Shirt Colour |
| Red and White | |
| Black | |
| White | |
| Light Blue | |
| Purple | |
| Red | |
| Orange | |
| Yellow | |
| Navy Blue | |
| Bright Green | |
| White and Orange | |
| Light Purple |