Tens of millions of Vietnamese were voting on Sunday (15 March) to elect members of parliament from a list of candidates almost exclusively fielded by the Communist Party, ensuring the party's continued overwhelming dominance.
The five-yearly elections will see between 73.5 million and 79 million voters choose 500 members of the National Assembly and representatives for local councils.
Nearly 93% of the 864 parliamentary candidates are Communist Party members, while about 7.5% are independents, according to the National Election Council, down from 8.5% in 2021.
Voters interviewed by Reuters at polling stations were largely upbeat, expressing hope that their representatives would continue modernising Vietnam, whose booming economy is undergoing major reforms introduced by top leader To Lam.
"I hope the representatives elected will guide young people in the right direction and introduce policies that better support youth," said 22-year-old Phan Nam Khanh, who cast his vote for the first time.
Election results will be announced on 23 March, parliament chairman Tran Thanh Man said, according to local media. Turnout has exceeded 99% in each of the last seven parliamentary elections, according to the state news agency.
The opening plenary session is scheduled for early April, when lawmakers are expected to approve the state's top leaders previously nominated by the party, including the president and prime minister.
Party officials are expected to formally announce their nominees for state leadership before parliament's opening session.
The move would allow the former head of public security to hold both powerful roles for five years, aligning Vietnam's political structure more closely with that of neighbouring China, where Xi Jinping also occupies both positions.
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meetin...
11 of 19 Kazakh servicemen swept into the Caspian Sea during military exercises in the Mangystau region have died, Kazakhstan’s Defence ...
Australia says an OpenAI AI agent gained unauthorised access to a government Medicare statistics portal in June, in what officials say could be an ...
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, as Washington pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine and Kyiv and Moscow continue to strike energy infrastructure.
U.S. President Donald Trump is addressing the UN General Assembly as world leaders gather in New York for the 81st session. Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and diplomacy set to dominate the event.
U.S. President Donald Trump said his team held a three-hour meeting with an Iranian delegation in New York that he described as “very good” and “productive”, with another round of talks scheduled soon.
The 81st UN General Assembly continues in New York on Wednesday, with another day of high-level speeches and diplomatic meetings. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and international cooperation remain at the centre of discussions.
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Australia says an OpenAI AI agent gained unauthorised access to a government Medicare statistics portal in June, in what officials say could be an unprecedented case of an AI system breaching a government network.
Pakistan says it carried out air strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday, targeting sites it said were used to store and launch drones, as tensions between the two neighbouring countries continued to escalate.
Here’s your AnewZ Daily Brief for 24 September 2026, with five key developments from the second day of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
A federal judge ordered U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, saying his ban on the three media outlets was likely unconstitutional.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment