Election deposit
For 24 years it was S$500 until 1976 when it started rising. By James Gomez of Workers’ Party.
May 20, 2005

Elections deposits of $500 for candidates were announced when elections were first introduced in 1948.

On nomination day, each nominee has to place a deposit with the returning officer. The rate of $500 was maintained for 24 years for elections from 1948 - 1972.

The election deposit was changed to $1,200 for the 1976 general and changed again to $1, 500 for the 1980 general election and stayed the same for the next general election held in 1984.

This figure of $1, 500 was again changed when the law was modified in June 1988 to peg the deposit amount to eight percent of the total allowance of an MP in the preceding year, rounded to the nearest $500 (October 20, 2001, The Straits Times).

Since then the elections deposits have been on the rise with the corresponding rise in MPs allowances. In 1988 it was $4,000, in 1991 it was $6,000, in 1997 it was $8,000 and in 2001 it went up to a high of $13,000.

When the Group Representative Constituency (GRC) ruling was introduced, the deposit for a GRC was linked to the sum total of deposits of all candidates in the group.

The deposit is returned to the candidate after the elections, unless the candidate fails to secure at least one-eight of the total votes cast.

In the event the votes are less that one-eight, but the candidate has nevertheless won the seat, then the deposit will not be forfeited (Section 28 of the Parliamentary Elections Act (Rev Edition 2001, 31 July).

Although the election deposit in Singapore is linked to a percentage of an MP’s annual allowance the high MP allowance has inevitably lead to a high deposit.

This has lead some to suggest that such high election deposits act as a barrier to entry into electoral politics in Singapore.

To understand the Singapore issue in perspective we can look at examples from the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. For instance, the election deposit for a parliamentary candidate in the United Kingdom is 500 pounds.

In Hong Kong the election deposit for a single candidate is HK$25,000; for a team/list of candidates is HK$50,000. A list of candidates could have as many as 5 to 6 members, depending on the district.

Further, an election deposit is lost, both in the UK and Hong Kong, only if the candidate polls less the 5% of the total votes cast. This is lower than the 8% in the Singapore case.

For the deposit for general elections to be held by 2007 have not been announced, the amount is traditionally announced closer to the actual elections.

Election deposits
(1948-1972)
Year
1948 - $500
1951 - $500
1955 - $500
1959 - $500
1963 - $500
1968 - $500
1972 - $500

Election Deposits
(1976-2001)
Year - Amount
1976 - $1,200
1980 - $1,500
1984 - $1,500
1988 - $4,000
1991 - $6,000
1997 - $8,000
2001 - $13,000
James Gomez