Voters in Vietnam cast ballots for the National Assembly, a body that ratifies decisions by the ruling Communist Party in the one-party state.
HANOI: VOTERS in Vietnam cast their ballots for members of the National Assembly, the country’s top legislative body.
The body serves mainly to ratify decisions by the ruling Communist Party in the one-party state.
Out of 864 candidates for the 500-seat parliament, only 65 are not members of the Communist Party.
This figure is down from 74 non-party candidates in the last vote five years ago.
State media reported more than 99% of 79 million eligible voters had cast their ballots by Sunday evening.
Polling stations were scheduled to officially close at 7:00 pm local time, with results not expected for at least a week.
Among the new parliament’s first tasks will be to confirm senior leaders already selected by the party.
Top leader To Lam was reaffirmed as general secretary at the party’s twice-a-decade congress in January.
He is widely expected to also become president, a post that requires approval by lawmakers.
“As more or less a window-dressing institution, there won’t be any big surprises at the vote,” said Nguyen Khac Giang of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
“However, top personnel selections will carry significant implications for the ongoing reform process,” he added.
After voting Sunday morning in Hanoi, Lam said the election aimed “to choose the most prestigious people to continue leading the country to more development”.
Many citizens, however, feel lukewarm about going to the polls in a country where major policies are decided by senior cadres.
“These elections have been the same for years. I don’t know so much about those who I voted for,” said grocery store employee Nguyen Thi Huong.
First-time voter Nguyen Kim Chi, 18, said she cast her ballot in the capital for “all the young” candidates.
“I know top positions are already set,” she added, “but I still hope my votes count.”
The Southeast Asian nation of 100 million is both an economic success story and a repressive state.
It boasted eight percent growth last year but often jails its critics.
