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 established in the lead-up to Singapore first Legislative Council elections in 1948. Singapore is a republic. While the country has a multi-party system, the dominant political party have often been the People's Action Party since 1965, along with the main opposition party, the Workers' Party. Minority governments are uncommon, as elections have not resulted in a hung parliament since independence.

Legislative power is vested in parliament, which consists of the president as its head and a single chamber whose members are elected by popular vote. The role of the president as the head of state has been, historically, largely ceremonial although the constitution was amended in 1991 to give the president some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves, as well as the appointment of key judiciary, civil service and Singapore Armed Forces posts. They also exercise powers over national security matters.

History

Pre-independence

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.

Post-independence

20th century

Post-independence Singapore saw the dominance of the People's Action Party, which first came into power in 1959. 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 parties with links to Malaysia, most of which renamed themselves and/or cut formal foreign ties. The PAP's dominance stemming from Singapore's economic advancement further weakened the smaller opposition parties, with a majority of Singaporeans voting for the PAP in subsequent elections.

Still, new parties continued to be established, and to date, there are therefore a total of 30 registered political parties today, of which ten have never contested in an election, 13 parties have officially dissolved with most through mergers with other parties. A few opposition parties, those of Workers' Party and Singapore Democratic Party, had gained some success towards the 80s with the captures of its safe seat of Hougang and Potong Pasir respectively, with the former went with further success heading towards the 21st century.

21st century

Over the years, alliances between political parties existed, however short-lived. Presently, three functioning multi-party alliances were formed, with the oldest surviving political umbrella being the Singapore Democratic Alliance, which was formed on 3 July 2001, initially composed of the Singapore People's Party (SPP), National Solidarity Party (NSP), 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 due to opposition infighting. 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 (RP).

Many party members have resigned from its former parties and later formed newer parties over the years following the aftermath of its respective general elections, notably People's Power Party (PPP) formed by former WP and NSP member Goh Meng Seng in 2015, the Peoples Voice (PV) by former-National Solidarity Party's Secretary general Lim Tean in 2018,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in 2019 by former People's Action Party Member of Parliament Tan Cheng Bock,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Red Dot United (RDU) in 2020 by former PSP members Ravi Philemon and Michelle Lee,<ref name=":02">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Singapore United Party (SUP) by former RP members in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Talks on a formation of alliance sparked prior to the 2020 election when four parties, Singaporeans First, PPP, RP and DPP, planned to create one alliance of their own,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but ended up applying for the SDA on 1 April<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has never materialized after SingFirst was dissolved and DPP withdrew from participating in that election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Two other political umbrellas were formed over a span of four months in 2023. In June, People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) was established from the parties of PV, RP, PPP and DPP,<ref name="a445">Template:Cite web</ref> though PPP later withdrew from the party months later.<ref name="x995">Template:Cite web</ref> In October, The Coalition was established with SPP, National Solidarity Party (NSP), Red Dot United (RDU) and Singapore United Party (SUP).<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref>

Legislation

Under the current legislation, all political parties (termed "Political Associations") 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.

The government has the power to dissolve the party if it contravenes the above rules, or any other rule applicable to all forms of registered societies.

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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.

The People's Action Party donated $20,000 to Australian political parties through (Singtel-owned) Optus in 2010, although the motives and details of the donation remain unverified.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political parties

There have been a total of 43 political parties (not including Malaysia's parties, those contested in both Malaysia and Singapore elections, or those which contested during Singapore's merger with Malaysia) in Singapore.

Template:Color box Party or Alliance active
Template:Color box Party or Alliance active, but collated to another party or alliance
Template:Color box Party or Alliance dissolved
Template:Color box Party or Alliance registered, but is yet to contest
Template:Color box Party or Alliance's status unknown

Current political parties

Party			Abbr.	Founded	Registered	Template:Tooltip	Elections Template:Nowrap<ref name=":1" group="note">The tally does not include city council elections, by-elections, Malaysian parliamentary elections or presidential elections (the latter which requires nonpartisan candidacy).</ref>	Template:Tooltip	MPs<ref name=":2" group="note">The tally is based on the latest number of MPs, NCMPs, and NMPs of Parliament.</ref>
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		People's Action Party Parti Tindakan Rakyat 人民行动党 மக்களின் செயல் கட்சி	PAP	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Lawrence Wong	17 (1955, Template:Nowrap 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2020, 2025)	65.6%	Template:Composition bar
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Workers' Party Parti Pekerja 工人党 பாட்டாளிக் கட்சி	WP	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Pritam Singh	16 (1959, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2020, 2025)	15%	Template:Composition bar
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Progress Singapore Party Parti Kemajuan Singapura 新加坡前进党 சிங்கப்பூர் முன்னேற்றக் கட்சி	PSP	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Leong Mun Wai	2 (2020, 2025)	4.9%	Template:Composition bar
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Singapore Democratic Party Parti Demokratik Singapura 新加坡民主党 சிங்கப்பூர் மக்களாட்சி	SDP	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Chee Soon Juan	11 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2020, 2025)	3.7%
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		National Solidarity Party Parti Perpaduan Nasional 国民团结党 தேசிய ஒருமைப்பாட்டுக் கட்சி	NSP	Template:Dts		Spencer Ng	9 (1988, 1991, 1997, 2001,<ref name=":3" group="note">The party was contested under the coalition of Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA).</ref> 2006,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2011, 2015, 2020, 2025)	0.1%
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Singapore People's Party Parti Rakyat Singapura 新加坡人民党 சிங்கப்பூர் மக்கள் கட்சி	SPP	Template:Dts		Steve Chia	7 (1997, 2001<ref name=":3" group="note" />}, 2006,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2011, 2015, 2020, 2025)	1.2%
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Singapore Democratic Alliance Perikatan Demokratik Singapura 新加坡民主联盟 சிங்கப்பூர் ஜனநாயக கூட்டணி	SDA	Template:Dts		Desmond Lim	6 (2001, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2020, 2025)	1.2%
bgcolor=Template:Party color|	File:Red Dot United.svg	Red Dot United Titik Merah Bersatu 红点同心党 ஒன்றுபட்ட சிவப்புப் புள்ளி	RDU	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Ravi Philemon	2 (2020, 2025)	4%
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		People's Power Party Parti Kuasa Rakyat 人民力量党 மக்கள் சக்தி கட்சி	PPP	Template:Dts		Goh Meng Seng	3 (2015, 2020, 2025)	0.7%
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Peoples Voice Suara Rakyat 人民之声 மக்கள் குரல்	PV	Template:Dts		Lim Tean	2 (2020, 2025<ref name=":6" group="note">The party was contested under the coalition of People's Alliance for Reform (PAR).</ref>)
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Reform Party Parti Reformasi 革新党 சீர்திருத்தக் கட்சி	RP	Template:Dts		Kenneth Jeyaretnam	4 (2011, 2015, 2020, 2025<ref name=":6" group="note" />)
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Democratic Progressive Party Parti Demokratik Progresif 民主进步党 ஜனநாயக முற்போக்குக் கட்சி	DPP	Template:Dts		Mohamad Hamim bin Aliyas	6 (1976, 1980, 1984, 1997, 2015,<ref name=":4" group="note">The party was contested under the coalition of Singapore People's Party (SPP).</ref> 2025<ref name=":6" group="note" />)
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Singapore Justice Party Parti Keadilan Singapura 新加坡正义党 சிங்கப்பூர் நீதிக் கட்சி	SJP	Template:Dts		Desmond Lim	11 (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 2001,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2006,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2011,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2015,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2020,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2025<ref name=":3" group="note" />)
bgcolor=Template:Party color|		Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura Singapore Malay National Organisation 新加坡马来国民机构	PKMS	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Abu Mohamed	14 (1955, 1959, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 2001,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2006,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2011,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2015,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2020,<ref name=":3" group="note" /> 2025<ref name=":3" group="note" />)
		People's Alliance for Reform 人民改革联盟	PAR	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Lim Tean	1 (2025)	2.5%
		Singapore United Party Parti Bersatu Singapura 新加坡统一党	SUP	Template:Dts		Andy Zhu		0.7%

Shirt colours

Template:Main The candidates and supporters of the various political parties tend to wear the following shirt colours while making their rounds in various wards or campaigning.

Party	Shirt Colour
People's Action Party	White
Workers' Party	Light Blue
Progress Singapore Party	Red White
Singapore Democratic Party	Red
National Solidarity Party	Orange
Peoples Voice	Black
Reform Party	Yellow
Singapore People's Party	White Red
Singapore Democratic Alliance	Blue
Red Dot United	Navy Blue
People's Power Party	Light Purple
Democratic Progressive Party	White Orange
People's Alliance for Reform	Maroon
Singapore United Party	Blue Grey

Past political parties

Party	Abbr.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Other name(s) & chronology	Registered Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Active period	Founder	Elections Contested<ref name=":1" group="note" />
Barisan Sosialis<ref name=":0" group="note">The party may have ceased to exist as of 11 August 2025 and de-registered under Societies Act.</ref> 社会主义阵线)	BS	Split faction from PAP	Template:Dts	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Template:Nowrap Lim Chin Siong	5 (1963, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984)
Progressive Party 进步党 Parti Progresif	PP	Succeeded by LSP	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Tan Chye Cheng John Laycock Nazir Ahmad Mallal	3 (1948, 1951, 1955)
Malay Union Template:Nowrap Kesatuan Melayu Singapura	KMS	-	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Ishak bin Ahmad	2 (1955, 1959)
Labour Front 劳工阵线 Barisan Buroh	SLF	Preceded by LP	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	David Marshall Lim Yew Hock Template:Nowrap	2 (1955, 1959)
Singaporeans First 国人为先 Warga Diutamakan	SGF	-	Template:Dts	Template:Nowrap Template:Dts	Tan Jee Say	1 (2015)
Singapore People's Alliance Template:Nowrap Perikatan Rakyat Singapura	SPA	Split faction from SLF, collated by SA	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Lim Yew Hock	1 (1959)
Liberal Socialist Party 自由社会党 Parti Liberal Sosialis	LSP	Preceded by PP and DP, succeeded by SPA	Template:Dts	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	E.K. Tan	1 (1959)
Citizens' Party 公民党 Parti Warganegara	CP	Succeeded by WP	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Seah Peng Chuan	1 (1959)
Katong United Residents' Association Template:Nowrap Persatuan Penduduk Bersatu Katong	KURA	Split faction from LSP	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Felice Leon-Soh	1 (1959)
Democratic Party 民主党 Parti Demokratik	DP	Succeeded by LSP	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Tan Eng Joo	1 (1955)
Labour Party 劳工党 Parti Buroh	LP	Succeeded by SLF, affiliated: Singapore Socialist Party	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	M.A. Majid M.P.D. Nair Peter Williams	1 (1951)
Singapore Congress 新加坡国民大会党 Kongres Singapura	SC	Succeeded by LSP	-	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Felice Leon-Soh	0
United People's Front<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 人民联合阵线 Barisan Rakyat Bersatu	UPF	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	Harbans Singh<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	4 (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988)
Angkatan Islam Islamic Movement 回教阵线	AI	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party, Persatuan Islam Setanah Melayu (1958–1967)	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	4 (1959, 1963, 1984, 1988)
Singapore Chinese Party<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 新加坡华人党 Parti Cina Singapura	MCA	Malayan Chinese Association (1950–1967), collated by SA	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	3 (1955, 1959, 1972<ref name=":5" group="note">The party was contested under the coalition of United People's Front (UPF).</ref>)
People's Front<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 人民阵线 Barisan Rakyat	-	Split faction from BS	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	2 (1972, 1976)
Partai Rakyat<ref name=":0" group="note" /> People's Party (Singapore State Division) Template:Nowrap Partai Rakyat	PRSSD	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	Ahmad Boestamam	2 (1959, 1963)
United National Front<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 联合国民阵线 Barisan Nasional Bersatu	UNF	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	1 (1972)
Singapore Alliance Party 新加坡联盟党 Parti Perikatan Singapura	SA	Singapore Alliance, Perikatan Singapura (1963–1965), Alliance Party Singapura (from 1966)	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Lim Yew Hock	1 (1963)
Parti Kesatuan Ra'ayat<ref name=":0" group="note" /> United Democratic Party 民主统一党	-	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	1 (1963)
United People's Party<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 人民团结党 Parti Rakyat Bersatu	UPP	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts - Template:Dts	Ong Eng Guan	1 (1963)
Singapore Indian Congress<ref name=":0" group="note" /> Template:Nowrap Kongres India Singapura	MIC, later SIC<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Nowrap Indian Congress (1946–1953) Malayan Indian Congress (1953–1968), collated by SA	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	1 (1959)
United Singapore Democrats Template:Nowrap Demokrat Singapura Bersatu	USD	Split faction from SDP	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	Jaslyn Go<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	0
Socialist Front 社会主义阵线 Socialist Front	SF	Split faction from RP	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	Chia Ti Lik	0
People's Liberal Democratic Party<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 人民自由民主党 Parti Liberal Demokratik Rakyat	-	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	Ooi Boon Ewe	0
Singapore National Front 新加坡国民阵线 Barisan Nasional Singapura	SNF	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	0
People's Republican Party<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 人民共和党 Partai Rakyat Republik	-	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	0
National Party of Singapore<ref name=":0" group="note" /> 新加坡国民党 Parti Nasional Singapura	-	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	0
Persatuan Melayu Singapura<ref name=":0" group="note" /> Singapore Malay Association Template:Nowrap	-	-	Template:Dts Template:Small	Template:Dts -	-	0

Template:Refbegin <references group="note" responsive="1"></references> Template:Refend

Other defunct parties

• Malayan Communist Party
• Malayan Democratic Union (dissolved in 1948)

See also

• Politics of Singapore
• Elections in Singapore
• List of political parties by country
• Non-constituency Member of Parliament
• Constituencies of Singapore

External links

• Political parties in Singapore