HANOI: Tens of millions of Vietnamese voters went to the polls on March 15 to elect 500 members of the National Assembly, with nearly 93% of the 864 candidates endorsed by the ruling Communist Party.
The five-yearly election, also selecting local council representatives, is one of the few formal democratic exercises in Vietnam’s tightly controlled political system. The party holds 97% of seats in the current legislature and is expected to maintain dominance.
Key figures like To Lam, confirmed as party general secretary in January, are poised to become president-aligning Vietnam’s leadership model with China’s Xi Jinping. The opening plenary session is set for early April, where top officials will be formally approved.
Prominent business leaders among the candidates include Nguyen Thanh Tung of Vietcombank and Le Hong Minh of VNG, owner of messaging app Zalo.
Women won about 30% of seats in 2021; this year’s gender split remains near 55% male, consistent with past elections. Results are expected on March 23.