SINGAPORE - Fourteen inactive political parties in Singapore have been deregistered as they have not met their obligations under the Republic’s foreign interference laws.

The Straits Times finds out what this means.

In August, the Registry of Societies called on the 14 inactive parties to furnish proof of their existence within three months, as they had not complied with the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica).

Under Fica, all political parties here are categorised as defined politically significant persons, 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.

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 In...