Communist party wins by landslide, again

Vietnam’s communist party won more than 91% of seats in elections for the country’s new national assembly, which will consist of 493 members with only 43 of those who won seats in the 12th five-yearly national assembly were not members of the party, said Bui Ngoc Thanh, the secretary general of the election council.
The communist party controlled 89.7% of seats in the previous assembly and only one of the self-nominated candidates—people not chosen by state-affiliated groups—was elected, Thanh said.
Among the top leaders, prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung won the most votes in his constituency with 99.1%, followed by party chief Nong Duc Manh with 91.2%. President Nguyen Minh Triet won 89.7% of votes while the present national assembly chair Nguyen Phu Trong obtained 88.1%.
More than 99% of 56.4 million eligible voters from Vietnam’s 84 million population cast their ballots in the May 20 election, Thanh added. The new assembly will include 127 women, down from 136, and 345 of members were elected for the first time.
The elections had been held in “democracy, according to law, safety and in thrift,” the secretary general told reporters. In its first session scheduled for mid-July, the assembly will elect and approve key state and government positions, Thanh said.
Diplomats said the reshuffle would probably affect some ministers, including the head of the trade ministry, but not top leaders like Triet and Dung. The NA, dominated and controlled by the communist party, has in recent years become more vocal, especially in the country’s major problems like corruption.

 

Category: Legal