Why do political parties get deregistered?

Fourteen inactive political parties in Singapore have been deregistered after no evidence was provided of their continued existence.

The Sunday Times finds out what this means.

Why were the 14 political parties deregistered?

In August, the Registry of Societies called on the 14 inactive parties to furnish proof of their existence within three months, after they had not complied with their reporting obligations under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA) and were not contactable by the Registry of Foreign and Political Disclosures.

Under FICA, all political parties here are categorised as defined politically significant people, and have to meet annual requirements related to donations, volunteers, leadership and affiliations.

For instance, they have to report single donations of $10,000 or more, and are prohibited from receiving donations from foreigners. Individuals also need to disclose whether they have been granted migration benefits, such as honorary citizenship or permanent residency, by foreign governments.

However, none of the 14 inactive political parties furnished proof of their existence in the three months they were given, and another notice was published in the Government Gazette on Dec 4 to say that they have ceased to exist.

Dormant political parties here have been revived before. At the 2015 General Election, the Democratic Progressive Party – which had been inactive for over a decade – formed a joint team with opposition stalwart Chiam See Tong’s Singapore People’s Party (SPP) to contest Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC under SPP’s banner. The PAP won there with 73.59 per cent of the vote.

What was notable about these deregistered political parties?

The 14 deregistered political parties include Barisan Sosialis, once Singapore’s largest opposition party, which was registered in August 1961, and the United People’s Party, founded by former People’s Action Party leader Ong Eng Guan in July 1961.

Many of them had ties to pre-independence Singapore, and most were active in the 1950s and 1960s. For instance, the Singapore Chinese Party and Singapore Indian Congress were Singapore branches of the Malayan Chinese Association and the Malayan Indian Congress, respectively.

The only party on the list registered post-2000s was the People’s Liberal Democratic Party, registered by former independent candidate Ooi Boon Ewe on May 2, 2006.

A list of all the registered societies in Singapore is published annually in the Government Gazette, and in the latest one published on July 11, some of the 14 political parties had outdated registered addresses. For instance, the registered address given for Barisan Sosialis is 436C Victoria Street, while that of the Persatuan Melayu Singapura is Istana Kampong Gelam Sultan Gate.

ST reported in 1984 that the Barisan was losing its party headquarters, as the Victoria Street premises it had rented for 23 years had been acquired by the Government.

The two-storey building, then owned by the Malayan Finance Corporation (Singapore), was among property that had been acquired to make room for an MRT station and to turn Victoria Street into a dual carriageway.

The Istana Kampong Gelam was in 2004 preserved as the Malay Heritage Centre. The former seat of Malay royalty in Singapore was gazetted as a national monument on Aug 6, 2015, just before Singapore’s Golden Jubilee.

How many political parties remain in Singapore?

Following the deregistration, there are now 20 registered political parties in Singapore, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told ST.

Eleven of them contested the 2025 General Election.

These are the People’s Action Party; Workers’ Party; Red Dot United (RDU); the People’s Alliance for Reform; Progress Singapore Party; Singapore Democratic Party; National Solidarity Party; People’s Power Party; Singapore People’s Party; Singapore United Party; and Singapore Democratic Alliance.

The others are: Angkatan Islam Singapura (Angkasa); the Democratic Progressive Party; Justice Party, Singapore; Peoples Voice; Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura; the Reform Party; Singapore National Front; Socialist Front; and United Singapore Democrats.

New political parties have been set up ahead of general elections. For example, the People’s Alliance for Reform was established in December 2023, initially as an alliance between four political parties: Peoples Voice, the Reform Party, People’s Power Party and the Democratic Progressive Party.

Just before the 2020 polls, RDU was set up by former Progress Singapore Party members.

While the MHA said at that time the average processing time for registering a new political party would be about two months, approval for RDU was granted three weeks after application. It was not mentioned if the process was expedited.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. 

Police block SRS Auto from disposing of its vehicles as probe into car leasing firms widen ADV: JLP Corporate - Translating Corporate Governance Principles into Legal Frameworks