1955 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on 2 April 1955 to elect the 25 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly. Nomination day was on 28 February 1955.
Background
Following the promulgation of the Rendel Constitution, the 1955 elections were the first occasion on which a majority of the seats were to be elected rather than be appointed by the colonial authorities. The new constitution was written after recommendations by a committee to grant local citizens more autonomy, headed by George Rendel, were passed.According to the new Constitution, locals would share executive power with the colonial authorities and there would be a Chief Minister among elected legislators. The number of elected seats was increased to 25, with the British government appointing the remaining seven members. For the first time, political parties were permitted to adopt a standard party symbol for all their candidates and independents to select theirs instead of balloting for them
The Governor of Singapore and Colonial Secretary posts were replaced by a Chief Secretary, who inherited the power to appoint four nominated Assembly Members. Also scrapped were the seats of the Solicitor-General, two directors, two ex-officios, the three commercial organisations and the City Council representative.
Timeline
Changes in electoral boundaries
| Constituency | Divisions formed from |
| Bukit Panjang | Bukit Timah & Seletar |
| Cairnhill | Balestier, Rochore & Tanglin |
| Farrer Park | Balestier |
| Geylang | Katong |
| Havelock | City, Keppel & Tanglin |
| Kampong Kapor | Rochore |
| Pasir Panjang | Bukit Timah & Keppel |
| Paya Lebar | Changi & Katong |
| Punggol–Tampines | Changi |
| Queenstown | Bukit Timah, Keppel & Tanglin |
| Sembawang | Bukit Timah & Seletar |
| Serangoon | Balestier, Changi & Seletar |
| Southern Islands | Bukit Timah & Keppel |
| Stamford | City & Rochore |
| Tanjong Pagar | City & Keppel |
| Telok Ayer | City |
| Tiong Bahru | Keppel |
| Ulu Bedok | Changi |
| Whampoa | Balestier |
Results
Much to the surprise for British, who had anticipated a Progressive victory and its leader, Tan Chye Cheng, to emerge as Chief Minister, it was the Labour Front that garnered the most seats and its chairman, David Marshall, thus became Singapore's first Chief Minister. Both losing and winning parties were shocked by the results. Labour Front formed a government with support of the Malayan Chinese Association, UMNO and the Malay Union.In its first elections, the newly formed People's Action Party, led by lawyer and former Progressive Party election agent Lee Kuan Yew, chose to field only a handful of candidates to protest against the Rendel Constitution. As independent member Ahmad bin Ibrahim joined PAP following the election, PAP had 4 members in the Assembly and thus Lee became the new Leader of the Opposition.