Vietnam announced on Saturday that 18 members from non-communist parties have been elected to the country's 500-member parliament.
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Vietnam announced on Saturday that 18 non-communist party members have been elected to the 500-member parliament.
Vietnam’s National Assembly is the country’s top legislative body, but it mainly approves decisions made by the ruling Communist Party.
Voters cast their ballots on Sunday and official results on Saturday showed only 18 elected members were members of non-communist parties. The number was just 14 in the election five years ago.
Ta Thi Yen, vice chair of the parliamentary sub-committee on affairs, called the increase “moderate,” saying it “signifies a meaningful expansion of democracy and representation in the National Assembly.”
The government said more than 99 percent of Vietnam’s 76 million eligible voters cast their ballots. The turnout is extremely high.
Vietnam, a Southeast Asian nation of about 100 million people, is an economic success story, with government figures showing growth of 8 percent last year.
The first meeting next month will be one of the first acts of the new parliament, which will approve the party's senior leaders, who were already elected at its two-decade congress in January.
The party meeting earlier re-approved top leader Tu Lam as general secretary, who is also expected to become president. The post requires the approval of lawmakers.
