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| A truck bearing propaganda posters for the elections and equipped with a loudspeaker drives in downtown Hanoi on May 22, 2011. (AFP) |
2011-05-22
Radio Free Asia
Vietnam held parliamentary elections on Sunday, with voters interviewed shrugging off the exercise as a mere formality confirming the ruling Communist Party’s power grip.
Sixty million people cast ballots for 500 members of the lawmaking National Assembly, which has in the past served largely as a rubber stamp for the Communist Party’s leadership but has begun to take on a more outspoken role.
But voters expected few surprises from the election, in which voting is mandatory and 86 percent of the candidates are Communist Party members.
A woman named Phuoc at a polling station in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon and Vietnam’s largest city, said she went to vote because she had to.
“It’s not so crowded,” she said. “We just follow as they instruct us to do, and then whoever wins, we will be informed of the winners.”
Ong Liem of Quang Tri province, on the north central Vietnam coast, said that because voting is mandatory, some people have officials help fill out ballots for them.
“I live in a rural area. I saw many people go to the polling station…. Rural people are not so well educated, so when they go to the station, they ask the officials there to help them with the ballots,” he said.
“As citizens, we vote, according to the government’s policy. Each citizen has their own opinion, but they cannot stay at home and not vote,” he said.
Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam in Australia, said that Vietnamese voters would not expect much from the candidates.
"Vietnam's electoral process has been designed to prevent hot-button issues from being discussed by the candidates," he said.
"Voters are not presented a choice of candidates who differ on how issues such as inflation and rising prices should be addressed," Agence France-Presse reported.
Inflation in Vietnam is currently at its fastest pace in almost two and a half years and threatens to dampen growth.
Nominations
Voters will choose from among 827 candidates, all of whom have been vetted by the Fatherland Front, a powerful party umbrella organization. The Fatherland Front selected 98 percent of the candidates, while only 15 nominated themselves and then received approval to run from the organization.
Nguyen Thi Lan, a would-be candidate for the People’s Council in Hanoi who was not approved for the ballot, said she would not take part in the vote.
“This election is only a formality. I myself am deprived of my rights because I was not approved, without just reason. Those who voted, voted with the direction of the Communist Party. Because of that, my family and I will not vote.”
“There is no right and there is no authority to deprive the people of their democratic rights. They have no right to suppress the people,” she said.
Said Phan Van Loi, a priest and activist involved with Bloc 8406, a coalition of political parties that advocate for democratic reforms:
“This is a pseudo-election which will select the loyalists to the party. Most of the candidates are Communist Party members. Only a few are non-member candidates, but they too are carefully selected by the Communist Party. They obey easily what the Party decides.”
National Assembly
Although the National Assembly is constitutionally the highest-ranking authority and officially selects the country’s top ministers, in practice it has often served as a rubberstamp for the Communist Politburo’s decisions.
But experts say the National Assembly is becoming more assertive. Last year the assembly rejected a government-approved plan to build a high-speed train system and considered a no-confidence vote in the prime minister over the handling of the collapsed shipbuilding company Vinashin.
This year, all 14 members of the Politburo, already selected by the Communist Party as its top leadership, are also standing for election to the National Assembly.
This may be a “step toward greater legitimacy,” Thayer said. “This will be a test of their popularity in their constituencies.”
The election results are expected in about a week.
Reported by Thao Dao for RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translation by An Nguyen. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
15 comments:
Ugly and bloody Communist Vietcong!!!
in 10 years later, Viet are more than Khmers.
Why event try. Waste of time. People use time to do something else like make a living. Hey, Saddam Hussein win election in 90% all the time. And there is no different here. Just like in Cambodia, CPP alway win just what used happen in Egypt.
well We need to do something about! one by one will form millions.
ពួកអាអ្នកនិយាយតែអំពីយួនក៏ប៉ុន្តែពួកវាស៊ីតែគុយទាវយួនជារាងរាល់ថ្ងៃ។បើចូលបាវិញរកតែកន្តួយយួន
ពួកអាអស់ទាំងនេះច្រើនណាស់នៅសហរដ្ធអាមេរិក
ពេលណាពួកវានិយាយដើមខ្មែរហើយឃើញខ្មែរដើរ
ទៅជិតពួកអាទាំងនោះវាបែទៅនិយាយភាសារយួនវិញពីព្រោះវាខ្លាចពលរដ្ធខ្មែរពីវានិយាយដើមខ្មែរ។បើនៅក្នុងផ្ទះវិញពួកវាមិនដែលឲ្យកូនចៅវានិយាយ
ភាសារខ្មែរទេគឺនិយាយតែភាសារយួនជារាងរាល់ថ្ងៃ។
Posted by Socheata
Why even have elections in a communist state?? To prove what?? DEMOCRACY??
they do like this is korea, too, so cambodia should learn from everybody in the world, really!
Nambodia????
Calling our country Nambodia means that for you it doesn’t belong to Khmers anymore. And yourself, Socheata, you are Nambodian! Please, if you were not Khmer, please kindly, do not hurt our feeling. We are proud Khmers and cannot tolerate this kind of frivolous and insensitive politicizing the country name. It is simply an pure insult! If it were from Youns themselves, we can understand that because they already called Cambodia Nam Vang in the past and some of them still use it to diminish Cambodia. It is a different matter if you were Youn or Siem, since we know their ambitions vis-à-vis Cambodia. If you think that peoples in power in Phnom Penh now are subservient to Vietnam ambition, you can attack their policy. Please do not mistake a government, or a party in power, for a country. We should not attack the image of Cambodia which is a permanent entity, while a government represents it for only a mandate.
Posted by Socheata
I do not like what Youns are doing in Cambodia, but I condemn the way you call my country Nambodia. I strongly protest this derogatory term. It is your right to express your view on Cambodian political situation. But calling our country that way, it really hurts our feeling.
2:40 AM and 3:06 AM
I agree with you. Those people wrote the stuff like Nambodia, trying to manipulate the people to believe Cambodia belongs to Vietnam in the 21st century to make them (Yuon/Viet) to look good. But, Yuon/Viet dare to over step the boundary and wish every Yuon/Viet head and mouth will be shot by the bullets and destroy their brains so that they (Yuon/Viet) can stop to manipulate. Someone who wrote Nambodia needs to be beaten down by Khmer/Cambodian people because this Yuon idiot deserves to be death. As Khmer people know, Yuon/Viet folks are hypocrite and evil to do things like that to hurt Cambodian people's feeling and more.
Bin Laden is alive in Vietnam!
i know, youn thugs try to change cambodia's name to sound like youn accent and so on! how pathetic of them, really! cambodia will always be cambodia, ok! get used to it, ok!
"ចូលស្ទឹងតាមបទ ចូលស្រុកតាមប្រទេស"
ខ្មែររាប់លាននាក់រស់នៅប្រទេសសៀម រាប់រយឆ្នាំ
តែនិយាយសៀមនៅក្រៅផ្ទះ ក្នុងផ្ទះគេនិយាយ
ខ្មែរមួយចំនួន ហើយខ្លះក៏និយាយថៃ។
ខ្មែរកម្ពុជាក្រោមនិងខ្មែរឯនាយសមុទ្រក៏ដូចគ្នានិង
ខ្មែរនៅស្រុកសៀមដែរ។អ្នកខ្លះអាចបំភ្លេចជាតិ
សាសន៍ខ្លួនបានតែអ្នកខ្លះពុំអាចបំភ្លេចបានទេ។
ទាំងអស់នេះជារឿងធម្មតារបស់មនុស្សជាតិ
ដែលទៅរស់និងជនជាតិផ្សេងៗពីខ្លួន។
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