July 1961 Legislative Assembly By-election

The Anson by-election was held to fill the Legislative Assembly seat left vacant by the death of People’s Action Party (PAP) assemblyman Baharuddin bin Ariff.^[1]

Nomination day was set for 10 June 1961 with polling to take place on 15 July.^[2] Five candidates – Chee Phui Hung (Singapore Alliance), K. M. Ibrahim (Singapore Congress), Ismail Haji Hussain (Liberal Socialist Party), Mahmud Awang (PAP) and David Marshall (Workers’ Party) – vied for the seat.^[3]

The by-election saw a split within the PAP as left-wing members withdrew their support for the PAP candidate and backed Marshall, chairman of the Workers' Party, instead.^[4] Marshall secured 3,598 votes to win by a narrow margin against M. Awang, who polled 3,052 votes.^[5] This was the PAP’s second by-election defeat in less than three months, after having lost in the Hong Lim by-election held earlier on 29 April.^[6]

References
1. Assemblyman for Anson dies at 28. (1961, April 21). The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. July 15 is polling day in Anson. (1961, June 13). The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Sam, J. (1961, June 11). Five contest Anson seat. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Chew, E., & Lee, E. (Eds.). (1991). A history of Singapore (p. 141). Singapore: Oxford University Press. Call no.: RSING 959.57 HIS.
5. Government of Singapore. (2011, October 18). 1961 legislative assembly by-election results. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from Singapore Elections Department website: http://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_past_by1961a.html
6. Government of Singapore. (2011, October 18). 1961 legislative assembly by-election results. Retrieved September 9, 2013, from Singapore Elections Department website: http://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_past_by1961b.html