Vietnamese start voting as national elections begin
Sunday, May 22, 2016, 11:08 GMT+7
Vietnam’s five-yearly national elections official kicked off on Sunday morning, with more than 69 million eligible voters countrywide beginning to cast their ballots for members of the lawmaking National Assemble and People’s Council at local levels.
>> Infographic: Vietnam’s 2016 national elections
Vietnamese citizens, from 18 years old and above, will cast their ballots at 184 electoral units across the country to select members of the 14th National Assembly and People’s Council at three local levels, province/city, district and commune/ward.
Voters will select 500 delegates from the 870 final candidates for seats in the country’s legislative body. The newly elected lawmakers will serve from 2016 to 2021.
Early ballots have been carried out in several areas, including some military units and remote localities, which have ended successfully, according to the National Election Council.
Nguyen Hanh Phuc, chief of the National Election Council Office, said the council has ordered local officials to submit reports on the procedure every two hours in order to stay updated on the electoral process during the Election Day.
After all electors have cast their vote, voting committees at all localities are required to send a written confirmation, along with a list of approved candidates, to the council.
“The official results shall be announced within 20 days after the Election Day,” Phuc stated.
Nguyen Thien Nhan, chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and vice-chair of the National Election Council, arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday afternoon to supervise voting process in the southern metropolis.
Reporting to Nhan, Truong Van Lam, director of the municipal Department of Home Affairs, affirmed that the total number of voters in the southern city was estimated at over 5.255 million.
Security across the city has also been tightened to deal with any potential activities that are set to sabotage the electoral procedure.
“Specific missions have been assigned to local authorities, including encouraging citizens to cast their vote, and raising alarm against potential harm,” said Lieutenant General Le Dong Phong, director of the municipal Department of Police.
Vice-chairman Nhan requested police in the city to continue focusing on ensuring security, order, and safety during the National Election Day, and promptly dealing with any opposing activities of foreign organizations as well as cyber attack.
Special units should also be dispatched at all voting locations to offer protection and support for electors, especially elderly and disabled people, Nhan asserted.
Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Election Committee, hoped that all legitimate citizens in the city would cast their vote and appoint those with sufficient ability to the positions.
Sunday’s election is organized and supervised by the National Election Council, chaired by Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman for the 13th tenure of the National Assembly.
The process is officially scheduled to run without pause from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. The schedule may be changed in some cases, but is not permitted to begin earlier than 5:00 am or end later than 9:00 pm.
Security in Ho Chi Minh City has been enhanced as a result of recent rallies on previous Sundays, which police said to be stirred up by a U.S-based anti-government organization named ‘Viet Tan’ (Vietnam Reform) to sabotage the electoral process.
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