Parliament of Singapore 4.09

The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore, which is based on the Westminster system. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) who are appointed. Following the 2015 general election, 89 MPs and three NCMPs were elected to the 13th Parliament. Nine NMPs were appointed during the first session of this Parliament. The first sitting of the 13th Parliament took place on 15 January 2016.Between 1819, when modern Singapore was founded, and 1867, the lawmaking authorities were the British government in India and the Parliament of the United Kingdom. After the Straits Settlements (Malacca, Penang, and Singapore) became a Crown colony, this function was taken over by the Settlements' Legislative Council, which was an unelected body. Following World War II the Straits Settlements were dissolved and Singapore became a colony in its own right with its own Legislative Council. In 1948 the Constitution was amended to allow for six seats in the Council to be elected; the country's first democratic elections were held that year. A further amendment in 1955 increased the number of elected seats to 25, and in the general elections that followed, the Labour Front won the majority of the seats in the Legislative Assembly of Singapore and its leader, David Saul Marshall, became the first Chief Minister of Singapore. Self-government was negotiated with the Colonial Office in London in 1956–1957, and became a reality in 1959. In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power, and its leader Lee Kuan Yew was appointed Prime Minister of Singapore. Singapore gained independence from Britain by joining Malaysia in 1963, but became a fully independent republic on 9 August 1965. Its Legislative Assembly was renamed the Parliament of Singapore.