The draft review report on elections for the 13th National Assembly (NA) and local People’s Councils showed that voting proceeded legitimately and democratically. General Secretary of the Election Council Pham Minh Tuyen reported yesterday that 99.51 per cent of voters or over 61 million citizens, turned out for the May 22nd election.
At a meeting in Ha Noi yesterday, Tuyen said 500 NA deputies and 302,648 People’s Council members had been selected.
The report, however, showed some limitations of the election: the central Government’s guidelines for the election were delayed; there were reports of late responses to petitions; and good public security was not always maintained. Meetings to collect voters’ opinions or assess election campaigns were convened inconsistently.
Party General Secretary, NA Chairman and Head of the Election Council Nguyen Phu Trong urged the council to remind its members and the staff of other organisations to finalise the report to be submitted to the NA’s first meeting next week.
He said “the final report needs to outline the difficulties and advantages of the social economic situation, public security, and the domestic as well as international context during the election. That will help to show all citizens that the election was truly a success and was the biggest election ever.”
At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Huu Thang urged the NA to early start revising and proposing amendments to the Election Law in order to prepare better for the next election.
Source: Viet Nam News.