Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency

Potong Pasir
Potong Pasir
Single Member constituency; for the Parliament of Singapore
Region	Central Region, Singapore
Electorate	19,740
Current constituency
Created	1968; 56 years ago
Seats	1
Party	People's Action Party
Member(s)	Sitoh Yih Pin
Town Council	Jalan Besar

The Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency is a Single Member Constituency (SMC) in the central region of Singapore. It is managed by Jalan Besar Town Council. The current Member of Parliament of the constituency is People's Action Party (PAP) Sitoh Yih Pin.

The constituency was first formed prior to the 1968 general election and was won by the People's Action Party (PAP) in its debut. PAP's representation of Potong Pasir SMC lasted sixteen years, losing the seat to Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Chiam See Tong after a 19% swing during the 1984 general election.

In the 2006 general election, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was tasked to help the PAP win back the two opposition wards of Hougang SMC and Potong Pasir SMC with a $100 million plan to upgrade the constituency. However, Chiam retained back the seat with 56% of the vote.

From 1984 to 2011, it was one of only two opposition-held (i.e. non-PAP) seats in Parliament.

During the 2011 general election, Chiam See Tong left to contest the nearby Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Lina Chiam, who lost the seat with 49% of the vote.

Member of Parliament[edit]

Election	Member
1968	Sellappa Ramaswamy	PAP
1972	Baptist Ivan Cuthbert
1979	Howe Yoon Chong
1984	Chiam See Tong	SDP
1988
1991
1997		SPP
2001		SDA
2006		SDA
2011	Sitoh Yih Pin	PAP
2015
2020

Electoral results[edit]

Note : Elections Department Singapore do not include rejected votes for calculation of candidate's vote share. Hence, the total of all candidates' vote share will be 100%.

Elections in 1960s[edit]

General Election 1968: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes
	PAP	Sellappa Ramaswamy	Walkover
Majority
Turnout
	PAP win (new seat)

Elections in 1970s[edit]

General Election 1972: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Ivan Cuthbert Baptist	7,772	66.2	N/A
	WP	Rajaratnam Murugason	3,391	28.9	N/A
	United National Front	Harnek Singh	573	4.9	N/A
Majority			4,381	37.3	-
Turnout			11,990	91.5	-
	PAP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1976: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Ivan Cuthbert Baptist	9,667	74.8	8.6
	WP	Quek Doh Lam	3,252	25.2	8.6
Majority			6,415	49.6	12.3
Turnout			13,255	93.6	2.1
	PAP hold		Swing	8.6

By Election 1979: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Howe Yoon Chong	9,056	66.9	7.9
	Independent	Chiam See Tong	4,491	33.1	N/A
Majority			4,565	33.7	15.8
Turnout			13,845	94.2	0.6
	PAP hold		Swing	7.9

Elections in 1980s[edit]

General Election 1980: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Howe Yoon Chong	5,509	59.0	7.9
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	3,821	41.0	7.9
Majority			1,688	18.0	31.6
Turnout			9,486	94.2	0.6
	PAP hold		Swing	7.9

General Election 1984: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	10,128	60.3	19.3
	PAP	Mah Bow Tan	6,674	39.7	19.3
Majority			3,454	20.6	38.6
Turnout			17,078	95.3	1.1
	SDP gain from PAP		Swing	19.3

General Election 1988: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	11,804	63.1	2.8
	PAP	Kenneth Chen Koon Lap	6,893	36.9	2.8
Majority			4,911	26.2	5.6
Turnout			18,697	95.4	0.1
	SDP hold		Swing	2.8

Elections in 1990s[edit]

General Election 1991: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	12,582	69.64	6.5
	PAP	Andy Gan	5,486	30.36	6.5
Majority			7,096	39.2	13.0
Turnout			18,325	95.1	0.3
	SDP hold		Swing	6.5

General Election 1997: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SPP	Chiam See Tong	9,709	55.15	14.49
	PAP	Andy Gan	7,895	44.85	14.4
Majority			1,814	10.30	N/A
Turnout			17,884	95.1	0
	SPP gain from SDP		Swing	14.4

Elections in 2000s[edit]

General Election 2001: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDA	Chiam See Tong	8,107	52.43	2.72
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	7,356	47.57	2.8
Majority			751	4.8	5.6
Turnout			15,463	98.9	3.8
	SDA gain from SPP		Swing	2.8

General Election 2006: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDA	Chiam See Tong	8,245	55.82	3.39
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	6,527	44.18	3.4
Majority			1,718	11.6	6.8
Turnout			14,958	94.1	4.8
	SDA hold		Swing	3.4

Elections in 2010s[edit]

General Election 2011: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	7,992	50.36	6.18
	SPP	Lina Chiam	7,878	49.64	6.2
Majority			114	0.8	12.4
Turnout			16,112	93.0	1.1
	PAP gain from SDA		Swing	6.2

General Election 2015: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	10,581	66.41	16.05
	SPP	Lina Chiam	5,353	33.59	16.05
Majority			5,228	32.10	31.30
Rejected ballots			224	1.39	-
Turnout			16,158	92.82	0.18
Registered electors			17,407
	PAP hold		Swing	16.05

Elections in 2020s[edit]

General Election 2020: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	11,264	60.67	5.74
	SPP	Jose Raymond	7,302	39.33	5.74
Majority			3,962	21.34
Rejected ballots			279	1.48
Turnout			18,845	95.51	2.69
Registered electors			19,731
	PAP hold		Swing	5.74

References[edit]