June 1957 Legislative Assembly By-election

A by-election was held for two constituencies – Cairnhill and Tanjong Pagar – following the resignations of their respective assemblymen, David Marshall (Singapore Labour Front) and Lee Kuan Yew (People’s Action Party).

Marshall had resigned from his post as Chief Minister on 7 June 1956 after the first round of constitutional talks broke down over issues related to internal security.^[1] His successor, Lim Yew Hock, led a second delegation to renew discussions in March 1957.^[2] The subsequent Legislative Assembly debate held on 26 April to discuss the terms of self-governance saw Marshall denounce the delegation – in particular, Lee Kuan Yew – for accepting what he saw as a “fraud constitution”.^[3] Lee then took on Marshall’s challenge to resign and seek re-election in their respective constituencies as a test of public support on the issue.^[4]

Nomination day was set for 18 May 1957 with polling to follow on 29 June. Lee garnered 68.13 percent of the votes polled and successfully defeated Chong Wee Ling of the Liberal Socialist Party and Koh Choon Hong, an independent candidate, to regain his seat in Tanjong Pagar.^[5] Marshall, however, chose to abstain from the by-election and announced his retirement from the political scene.^[6] Soh Ghee Soon of the Liberal Socialist Party fought against four other candidates to achieve 40.28 percent of the votes polled, thus winning the Cairnhill seat.^[7]

References
1. Chew, E., & Lee, E. (Eds.). (1991). A history of Singapore (p. 136). Singapore: Oxford University Press. Call no.: RSING 959.57 HIS.
2. Chew & Lee, 1991, p. 137.
3. Turnbull, C.  M. (2009). A history of modern Singapore, 1819–2005, (p. 266). Singapore: NUS Press. Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR.
4. Lee, K. C. (1957, April 27). Lee v Marshall at polls. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Government of Singapore. (2011, October 18). 1957 legislative assembly by-election results. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from Singapore Elections Department website: http://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_past_by1957.html
6. Marshall resigns. (1957, May 1). The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. [Marshall returned to politics with the formation of the Workers' Party eight months later.]
7. Government of Singapore, 18 Oct 2011, 1957 legislative assembly by-election results.