National Assembly elections held

A 99% voter turnout was officially reported for the National Assembly elections, despite the fact that there were just 875 candidates for 493 seats, all with prior approval from the Vietnam Communist Party and its Fatherland Front. All but 150 candidates were party members, and of the 150 non-party members only 43 were elected, less than the 50 hoped for by election organizers. Of these 150 non-party candidates, 30 were self-nominated -- 238 self-nominated candidates had sought approval -- but only one self-nominated candidate was elected.

Regarding the reported turnout of 99%, or 56.4 million voters, an Associated Press report said that "many voters cast ballots without actually going to the polls, family members often vote for them." A Reuters report noted: "Voting is not compulsory but officials cajole people to cast ballots as districts compete to make sure all those eligible perform their civic duty. Many votes are cast for several members of a family by one person."

The new assembly will convene its first session in July.

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, May 29.