 The first Singaporean elections , held in March 1948 , were limited as only six of the twenty @-@ five seats on the Legislative Council were to be elected . Only British subjects had the rights to vote , and only 23 @,@ 000 or about 10 % of those eligible registered to vote . Other members of the Council were chosen either by the Governor or by the chambers of commerce . Three of the elected seats were won by a newly formed Singapore Progressive Party ( SPP ) , a conservative party whose leaders were businessmen and professionals and were disinclined to press for immediate self @-@ rule . The other three seats were won by independents . 
