GRCs were introduced in this GE to ensure ethnic minority representation in Parliament, beginning with three joint constituencies. The Electoral Boundaries Delineation Committee was replaced by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee and changes no longer had to be passed as a bill in Parliament but an acceptance by the Prime Minister's Office was suffice. The EBRC report, after placement with the PMO on 25 May 1988, was released on 14 June 1988. This was the last time PM Lee Kuan Yew led the PAP in a GE and another two stalwarts - former Deputy PM Dr Toh Chin Chye and Senior Minister S. Rajaratnam - retired. Two seats were vacated in 1986 - Anson of WP Member of Parliament and chief J. B. Jeyaretnam and Geylang West of PAP MP Teh Cheang Wan. The former was convicted for impropriety of party accounts and disqualified as MP and the latter committed suicide while under investigation for corruption but no by-election was held. WP absorbed BS and SUF to become the largest opposition party and also worked with PKMS as one common unit. Former solicitor-general and Law Society president, Francis Seow, standing under the WP ticket in Eunos GRC with veteran politician Dr Lee Siew Choh, came under fire from the PAP leadership for his alleged dubious financial circumstances. Nevertheless, the strong WP team caught PAP's attention and Dr Tay Eng Soon, a popular PAP stalwart, was swapped to face the WP team. In the end, PAP won the GRC by an extremely narrow margin. With SDP's sole victory, two Non-Constituency MP seats were offered to WP, which nominated Dr Lee and Seow to take them up. However, Seow, who was charged for tax evasion, fled the country to avoid arrest and was disqualified from his seat on 17 December 1988 before Parliament began. Dr Lee became Singapore's first NCMP and marked his return to Parliament after 25 years since his last stint as a PAP and BS legislator. Once again, there was a significant increase of election deposit. In November 1990, two years after the GE, the Nominated MP scheme was introduced to bring non-partisan voices into the legislature. Although the law provided for a maximum of six NMPs, two were appointed at the start and served for a year before the Parliament term ended.
6th Parliament dissolution: 17 August 1988 [Wed]
Nomination day: 24 August 1988 [Wed]
Polling day: 3 September 1988 [Sat]
7th Parliament convention: 9 January 1989 [Mon]
Eligible voters: 1,669,013
Voters in walkover constituencies: 219,175 (13.1%)
Total voters: 1,449,838 (86.9%)
Total voter turnout: 1,373,064 (94.7%)
Election deposit: $4,000 (+$2,500)
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