Many local journalists who are covering the on-going eighth session of the 13th National Assembly (NA) in Hanoi were shocked by a press release issued by the NA Press Center this morning stating that the media are not permitted to report on the confidence vote for the nation’s top political leaders.

>> Confidence vote results for Vietnam leaders announced

However, the Press Center later said there was a misunderstanding in the original document and thus issued a new one.

The corrected document reads: “At the request of the NA Office, the NA Press Center would like to require the press not to attend and cover the following events: NA discussions about a confidence vote held on November 14, the presentation made by the Chairman of the National Assembly Office Nguyen Hanh Phuc on the discussion results, the NA’s selection of the vote count committee, and vote-casting by NA deputies.

“But journalists are allowed to report on confidence vote results that will be announced on November 15,” the document adds.

Also this morning, the law-making NA passed a list of 50 top officials whose positions are chosen or approved by the legislature, including the Prime Minister and the State President.

With regard to this year’s confidence vote, NA deputies will cast their ballots on whether they have “high confidence," ''confidence" or "low confidence" in the top 50 officials.

“People and voters across the country should put your faith into every NA deputy. The vote should be conducted carefully, honestly, and with a sense of justice. Therefore, you have to make an accurate assessment before casting your ballots,” said NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

“If we misunderstand information or make personal judgment, the results would not be correct. The ballots are light but the ballotters bear heavy responsibility,” Hung added.

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