1948 Singaporean general election

The 1948 Singaporean general election was held on 20 March 1948 to elect members to the Legislative Council of Singapore. The first general election held in Singapore, it was part of a series of constitutional reforms introduced by the British colonial administration following the end of World War II. Under this structure, six of the twenty-five seats on the Legislative Council were to be filled through direct elections, with the remainder appointed or held ex officio. The electorate was highly restricted, limited to British subjects who met strict specific residential and income qualifications, resulting in just over 22,000 registered voters from a population of approximately 940,000.

Of the six elected seats, only three were contested, as the other three candidates were returned unopposed. Political organisation remained minimal, with most candidates standing as independents or with limited affiliation. The Progressive Party (PP) was the only formal political party to contest the election and secured three of the six seats, becoming the most prominent elected group in the Council. Voter turnout was modest, at approximately 63% of registered voters, a figure influenced by the narrow franchise and low levels of political mobilisation among the wider population.

Although highly limited in scope, the election represented a preliminary move towards greater self-governance in Singapore. The heavily restricted electorate, the dominance of appointed members and the limited powers of the elected representatives drew criticism from local political figures and civic groups, some of whom were suppressed under colonial security measures.