At the first consultation conference, many participants said that too many government officials are also members of the National Assembly.

On February 23, the conference was held at the office of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee to negotiate the structure, composition and the number of NA deputies of central agencies.

According to the NA Standing Committee’s plan, of the 500 NA deputies, 20 are cabinet members and 9 are provincial officials, accounting for nearly six percent.

Many participants said that too many cabinet members are also NA deputies and this creates a situation where they are both “football players and referees”.

Nguyen Tuc, member of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, said that cabinet members like Deputy PM and Ministers should not be NA deputies because they are automatically invited to the NA sessions. In addition, NA deputies who are also cabinet members are busy working at executive bodies so they can’t fully participate in the NA’s activities.

Tuc proposed to increase the number of NA deputies who are not members of the Communist Party of Vietnam to 15-20 percent to enhance the democracy in the NA.

Tran Hoang Tham, Vice Chair of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, said that executive bodies should reduce their representatives in the NA. “Chairs of provinces need to focus their energy to do their jobs well and let others work as NA deputies,” Tham said.

Lu Van Que, Chair of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee’s Central Ethnic Consulting Council, said that there were 14 ethnic groups that don’t have their representatives in the NA. He proposed to raise the deputies of ethnic groups from 90 to 105.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, Chair of the Vietnam Women’s Union, said that the ratio of female deputies is low. “The fifth NA had 32 percent of women deputies but the rate has fallento 27 percent since then,” Hoa said.

Truong Cong Phu, member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Presidium, expressed his worry over the qualification of deputies. Phu said that the top priority is ensuring the quality of NA deputies. In addition, to improve the quality of the NA’s law-making process, the NA should have more full-time deputies.

Phu also suggested inviting representatives of overseas Vietnamese in the NA because the community of overseas Vietnamese includes over three million people.

NA Vice Chair Uong Chu Luu said that the population has increased to over 87 million while the number of NA deputies is still 500 so it is difficult to define the composition of the NA.

He noted that the number of cabinet members in the NA has been reduced. There are 22 ministers but only 11 of them are NA deputies. However, Luu added that he would submit to the NA proposed list of participants to the consultation conference. He also emphasized the importance of the quality of deputies.

The NA Vice Chair said that the opinions on the ratios of NA deputies who are not Party members, female deputies or businessman deputies are reasonable. For the deputies who are overseas Vietnamese, Luu said that this issue has been mentioned but it will be considered only after the Constitution and the Law on NA and People’s Council Election are amended.

After the first consultation conference, the NA Standing Committee will adjust the structure and composition of the 13^th NA.

Schedule structure of the 13^th NA

Total number of deputies: 500, including 183 deputies (36.6 percent) of central agencies and 317 (63.4 percent) of local agencies.

Party agencies: 34, including 11 from central agencies and 23 from provinces (provincial party secretaries)

State agencies: 1/NA: 196 deputies (39.2 percent) including 100 specialized deputies at committees of the NA and 65 specialized deputies for provincial NA delegations; People’s Councils: 31 deputies. 2/Presidential agencies: 3 deputies. 3/ Central government: 20 deputies (including one deputy each for the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Defense, Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam), local governments: 9 deputies. 4/Armed forces: 31 deputies from the army and 14 from the police forces. 5/Justice sector: 17 deputies

Vietnam Fatherland Front and member organizations: 82 deputies, including 31 from central agencies and 51 from local agencies.

Ninety deputies will be selected from science andtechnology, education, art-culture, labor and social affairs, health, state-owned and private economic sectors.

Composition

NA deputies who are ethnic minority people: 90 (18 percent)

Female deputies: 150 (30 percent)

Deputies who are non-party members: 10-15 percent

Young deputies (less than 40 years old): 70 (14 percent)

Reelected deputies: 160 (32 percent)

Source: NA Standing Committee

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