Nearly 70 million Vietnamese on May 22 cast ballots to elect deputies to the 14th National Assembly and local People’s Councils for the 2016-21 tenure.
The election is the largest ever in scale with over 69 million voters across the country casting their votes to elect the most worthy candidates, who will represent them at the National Assembly as well as all-level People’s Councils nationwide.
According to the Office of the National Election Council, up to 65.5 million voters, or 98.77 percent, went to the polling stations to choose 500 deputies to the National Assembly and 3,918, 24,993 and 294,055 deputies to People’s Councils at provincial, district and commune levels, respectively.
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| Streetside posters cheer up the election day of May 22 in Thanh Hoa city __Photo: Hoang Hung/VNA |
The Office’s statistics showed that most of the localities saw the voting rate of over 90 percent. Thua Thien Hue and Yen Bai provinces topped the list with 99.99 percent, followed by Hoa Binh province with 99.98 percent, and Quang Nam and Ben Tre provinces with 99.97 percent.
This is the first time the votes will be counted publicly, said Nguyen Hanh Phuc, Secretary General of the National Assembly and Chief of the National Election Council’s Office.
It is also the first time people who are in custody or temporary detention can cast their votes.
Party and State leaders joined voters nationwide in exercising a citizen’s right and duty to elect deputies to the National Assembly and People’s Councils.
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was the first to cast ballots at polling station No. 3 in Nguyen Du ward, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi.
The Party leader expressed his hope that all elected deputies would try to best serve the nation and the people, and fulfill their responsibilities and obligations on behalf of the people, in taking part in the management of the country and society.
After casting his ballots at polling station No. 8, Vinh Bao township, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said he believed voters would select worthy, virtuous and talented representatives who would represent their aspirations, contributing to building a state of the people, by the people and for the people.
President Tran Dai Quang also joined voters in Nhan Chinh ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, to cast ballots. He said the election has an important significance in building, strengthening and improving the law-ruled state of Vietnam, and in meeting the demands to speed up industrialization, modernization and global integration of the country.
Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Chairwoman of the National Assembly and also Chairwoman of the National Election Council, also cast the first ballots at polling station No. 4 in Vinh Phuc ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi.
“People exercise their right to democracy and fulfill their civic obligations to the State and society soundly,” Ngan told the press on her fact-finding tour in Hanoi after having cast her ballots.
Particularly, some areas in 10 provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Lai Chau, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Quang Nam, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, Nghe An, Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak held early voting due to travel difficulties for voters. These areas included those along the coastline, offshore islands and places where voters would be working at sea on the election day.
More than 300 officers and soldiers in Ly Son island district in Quang Ngai province on May 20 voted their ballots. The same day, 28,500 voters in 34 disadvantageous communes in the mountainous districts of Tuong Duong, Que Phong, Ky Son and Con Cuong in Nghe An province also voted.
The Ministry of Home Affairs’ preliminary report says that the voting in provinces and cities nationwide on May 22 was organized earnestly and safely in accordance with law.
The election proved that voters across the countries, regardless of their social backgrounds and religions, exercised their citizen’s right and accomplished their duty to the country.
Looking forward, voters can hope that “those who are elected to the National Assembly and People’s Councils will do their best to serve the country and the people and will soundly perform their responsibilities as prescribed by the Constitution and law,” said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
The National Election Council will release the election results and the list of elected deputies to the National Assembly within 20 days, while local Election Committees will announce the election results and the lists of elected deputies to local People’s Councils within 10 days, after the election day, according to the 2015 Law on Election of Deputies to the National Assembly and Deputies to People’s Councils.-
