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Singapore (Election to the House of
Representatives) Bill

Bill No. 1/1963

Read the first time on 22nd October 1963.

An Ordinance to provide for the first election of Members of the House of Representatives of the Federation from Singapore.

Whereas it is provided by section 95 of the Malaysia Act that, for the purpose of the first elections of Members of the House of Representative from Singapore shall be elected as may be provided by the Legislature of Singapore with the concurrence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong:

Be it enacted by the the Yang di-Pertuan Negera with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, as follows:—

Short title

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Singapore (Elections to the House of Representatives) Ordinance, 1963.

Interpretation

2. In this Ordinance unless the context otherwise requires —

“Clerk” means the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly;

“House of Representatives” means the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament;

“Speaker” means the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Election of Members of House of Representatives

3.—(1) Where at the request of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara members of the House of Representatives from Singapore have been elected by the Legislative Assembly before the coming into operation of this Ordinance, such members shall be deemed to be duly elected under the provisions of this Ordinance.

(2) As often as there is vacancy among Members elected to the House of Representatives from Singapore the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall give notice to the Yang di-Pertuan Negara that an election of a Member of the House of Representatives is required and the Yang di-Pertuan Negera shall require the Legislative Assembly to elect a Member of the House of Representatives as soon as may be.

Representation

4.—(1) The Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected from the Members of the Legislative Assembly.

(2) Twelve Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected from the members of the People’s Action Party in the Legislative Assembly and three Members from the members of the Barisan Sosialis in the Legislative Assembly.

(3) When a vacancy among the Members elected to the House of Representatives from Singapore occurs because of the disqualification, death or resignation of a Member elected from the members of the People’s Action Party or the Barisan Sosialis in the Legislative Assembly, such vacancy shall be filled by the election of a member from the People’s Action Party or the Barisan Sosialis, as the case may be.

Procedure for election

5.—(1) The names of candidates for election shall be proposed and seconded by Members of the Legislative Assembly.

(2) If the number of candidates is the same as the number of vacancies to be filled, the Speaker shall declare such persons to have elected to fill the vacancies.

(3) If the number of candidates is larger than the number of vacancies to be filled, the Legislative Assembly shall proceed to elect the Members of the House of Representatives from Singapore by ballot.

(4) Each Member present shall be entitled to vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled.

(5) For the purpose of the ballot, the Clerk shall give to each Member present a ballot paper on which the Member may write the name of the person or persons for whom he wishes to vote. Each ballot paper shall be folded so that the name written thereon cannot be seen.

(6) The Clerk shall thereafter call the names of Members in alphabetical order and as his name is called each Member shall come to the Table and put his ballot paper into a box or boxes provided for that purpose. The Speaker shall then cause the ballot papers at the Table to be counted and shall immediately thereafter declare the result to the Legislative Assembly.

(7) The Speaker shall declare to be elected the candidate or candidates who receive the largest number of votes but if two or more candidates have an equal number of votes and the number of those candidates is larger than the number of vacancies to be filled, the election of those candidates shall be determined by lot.

(8) As the ballot papers are counted, they shall be placed in a box and, when the persons have been declared to be elected as Members of the House of Representatives, the box shall be sealed in the presence of the Legislative Assembly and kept in the custody of the Clerk for one calendar month and then, subject to any previous direction he may receive from the Legislative Assembly, the Clerk shall burn the ballot papers and certify to the Legislative Assembly that this has been done.

First elections

6.—(1) For the purpose of the first elections to the House of Representatives under subsection (1) of section 3 of this Ordinance, the names of the twelve members to be elected from the members of the People’s Action Party in the Legislative Assembly shall be proposed by a member of the People’s Action Party in the Legislative Assembly shall be proposed by a member of the People’s Action Party in the Legislative Assembly and the names of the three members to be elected from the members of the Barisan Sosialis in the Legislative Assembly shall be proposed by a member of the Barisan Sosialis in the Legislative Assembly.

(2) The provisions of section 5 of this Ordinance shall not apply to the first elections of the House of Representatives under subsection (1) of section 3 of this Ordinance.

Certification of election

7. The Speaker shall certify to the Speaker of the House of Representatives by writing under his hand the names of the persons elected as Members of the House of Representatives from Singapore in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.

Decisions as to elections

8. If any question arises as to whether a Member of the House of Representatives has been duly elected in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, the decision of the Legislative Assembly shall be taken and shall be final.