Motorists pass displays about the National Assembly and People's Councils elections in Hanoi on May 19, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
HANOI – Over 69 million voters across Vietnam are casting their votes on Sunday to elect deputies to the country's National Assembly (NA) and members of People's Councils at all levels.
Held every five years, the election this year started at 7 am local time Sunday at around 80,000 polling stations nationwide, Vietnam News Agency reported.
Held every five years, the election this year started at 7 am local time Sunday at around 80,000 polling stations nationwide, Vietnam News Agency reported
A total of 866 candidates are vying for 500 seats at the 15th NA, and 3,726 deputies will be selected from 6,199 candidates to enter provincial-level People's Councils, with also 22,952 deputies to district-level People's Councils and 242,312 deputies to commune-level People's Councils, according to Vietnam's National Election Council.
The election this year takes place amid the complicated development of COVID-19 in the country. Authorities have asked voters to strictly follow COVID-19 prevention and control protocols, including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing at polling stations.
All voters' entry time should be recorded to be used for contact-tracing if a positive case or a suspected case of COVID-19 is detected, according to the Ministry of Health.
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Special ballot boxes were brought to hospitals, quarantine facilities and lockdown areas for COVID-19 to ensure people's voting rights, according to the election council. The boxes would be disinfected before and after voting, and marked as potentially hazardous to warn of infection risks and kept separately.
The results of the election are expected to be revealed within 20 days, according to a press release by the election council. The election is scheduled to conclude at 7 pm local time on Sunday.
As of Sunday morning, Vietnam had reported a total of 5,119 cases of COVID-19 infections and 42 deaths, with 2,066 locally transmitted cases and seven deaths recorded since the start of the latest outbreak in late April.
The final session of the 14th NA replaced several top leadership positions of the country. On March 31, Vuong Dinh Hue was elected the new NA chairman, before Nguyen Xuan Phuc was elected the new state president and Pham Minh Chinh became the country's new prime minister on April 5.
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