VIETNAM: Vietnamese elect 500 next delegates for five-year tenure of parliament

Vietnamese voted on Sunday (May 20) for delegates to the next National Assembly, or parliament, the body which has a leading role in economic and legal reforms in the Communist-ruled, one-party state. The 875 candidates for 500 seats include 150 who are not Communist Party members, but have party approval to run. Thirty candidates were allowed to enter on their own, their nominations approved by colleagues and neighbours. Vietnam's top politician, Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, cast his ballot in front of journalists in a Hanoi district of wide, tree-lined avenues and yellow French colonial-era buildings where many officials live. The incoming five-year parliament will be the first since the impoverished country of 85 million joined the World Trade Organisation in January. " I expect the new National Assembly should promote the real democracy in the political and social life of all Vietnamese. So that all capability and creativeness of Vietnamese people can be mobilised at most, specially in the process of renewal and integration to the World", retired biologist Nguyen Me Linh, said. Spurred on by loudspeaker announcements, colourful billboards and cajoling by officials in districts nationwide, citizens arrived early to vote in the capital, Hanoi, and elsewhere. Some turned up in traditional ao dai dresses or in suits and ties. Monks wore their customary orange or brown robes. Electoral law calls for all seats in 182 constituencies to be contested, but in practice, many are not. However, the National Assembly is no longer viewed as purely a rubber stamp for the Party. Delegates question ministers and scrutinise policy more than they did in the past, but the Party tolerates no unsupervised challenge to its rule. " I hope the new National Assembly will strongly fight against the corruption and other social evil in our society. I trust that they could play the leading role in policy making. They should do more to help poor people, specially in the mountainous and remote areas", Nguyen Quoc Uy, a Hanoi resident, said. Some districts, particularly in and around the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, were more contested than those in northern and central areas. The presidential palace, main streets and markets of Vietnam's biggest city, formerly Saigon, were swathed in red. The red national flag with yellow star hung from shops and houses. An anti-corruption campaign, traffic safety, consumer prices, education, health and clean food and water were among issues important to voters nationwide, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong was quoted as saying. Polling stations were to stay open for 12 hours on Sunday, with results to be announced within 15 days. President Nguyen Minh Triet, who visited China last week and goes to the United States in June, told Vietnam TV as he voted in Ho Chi Minh City: "Voters should wisely elect the people who fully deserve to contribute to serving the country, the people to bring the country forward." The Party's 20-year policy of "renewal" has opened the economy to market reforms and business competition that have improved many citizens' standard of living.

ITN Source | May 20, 2007

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