Legislative Council Election Ordinance is introduced

The Legislative Council Election Ordinance was a piece of legislation that provided for the election of six of the 22 members of the Legislative Council. The enactment of the ordinance on 18 July 1947 marked one of the earliest milestones in Singapore’s journey to self-government as the legislation introduced the concept of a general election to the island for the first time.^[1] The legislation was drafted by G. W. McL. Henderson, who was then the acting attorney-general of the supreme court. It was based on the report by a committee comprising British officials and local representatives, and chaired by Colonial Secretary P. A. B. McKerron.^[2]

The Legislative Council was the body that was responsible for enacting laws in Singapore at the time. It was part of the hierarchy of the government structure of Singapore after it became a crown colony in April 1946 following the dissolution of the Straits Settlements. At the top of the structure was the governor followed by the Advisory Executive Council, the Legislative Council and the Municipal Council.^[3] The Legislative Council had 22 members comprising four ex-officio members, five officials, four unofficials and nine elected members. Of the nine elected members, one seat each was allocated to the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Chamber of Commerce, while the remaining six seats were filled by elected members.^[4] The first six elected legislative councillors were from the two-member wards of Municipal South-West and Municipal North-East and the single-member wards of Rural West and Rural East.^[5]

The first Legislative Council election was held on 20 March 1948 and it was contested by 15 candidates,^[6] of which six were from the Progressive Party and the remaining nine were independents. C. C. Tan and N. A. Mallal from the Progressive Party captured the Municipal South-West ward, while John Laycock, who was also from the Progressive Party, shared the Municipal North-East ward with independent candidate M. J. Namazie. The remaining Rural West and Rural East seats went to independents S. C. Goho and Sardon bin Haji Zubir respectively. There were 22,334 registered voters out of which 63.2 percent casted their votes.^[7]

References
1. Singapore. Supplements to the laws of the Colony of Singapore. (1947). Singapore Legislative Councul Elections Ordinance 1947 (Ord. 24 of 1947, p. 42). Singapore: Government Printing Office. Call no.: RCLOS 348.5957 SGGAS; Election bill passed in Singapore. (1947, July 4). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Lee, E. (2008). Singapore: The unexpected nation (p. 79). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Call no.: RSING 959.57 LEE.
2. Ong, C. S. (Ed.). (1989). Guides to the sources of history in Singapore (Vol. 1, p. 58). Singapore: National Archives. Call no.: RSING 016.95957 GUI.
3. Tan, K. Y. L. (1999). The Singapore legal system (p. 126). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Call no.: RSING 349.5957 SIN.
4. 9 more council names expected. (1948, March 22). The Straits Times, p. 5; Council membership completed. (1948, March 27). The Straits Times, p. 5.  Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Singapore goes to the poll. (1948, March 20). The Straits Times, p. 8.  Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. Fifteen nominated for elections. (1948, February 17). The Straits Times, p. 1.  Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. 63 percent voters go to poll. (1948, March 21). The Straits Times, p. 1.  Retrieved from NewspaperSG.