The National Assembly and People’s Council elections finished at 7 pm, May 22, in Vietnam, with over 97 percent of constituents casting their ballots.

It is estimated that by 7.30 pm, May 22, 97.1 percent of constituents voted their casts. There are 21 provinces where the ratio reached over 99 percent, 29 provinces with 95-99 percent. The central province of Thua Thien – Hue city had the highest rate, over 99.9 percent, while it was 99.81 percent in HCM City and over 98 percent in Hanoi.

The weather was quite convenient for the election in most of provinces and cities. However, there was shower in the Mekong Delta provinces of Hau Giang and Can Tho, shower, whirlwinds and power cut in Cao Bang province.

The elections ended at 7 pm of May 22. The votes were counted immediately after the elections. From 9-21 members of election groups will count the votes at each voting precincts.

Phan Van Hung, a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that by May 25, election groups must send the vote counting results to local election committees. These committees must submit the result of the National Assembly election to the National Election Council by May 29.

By May 27, the results of the commune-level People’s Council election will be announced. The deadline will be May 29 for district-level People’s Council election in the lowland, June 1 for the district-level People’s Council election in the upland, islands and the provincial-level People’s Council election in the lowland. For the provincial-level People’s Council election in the upland, the results must be made public by June 6.

In many remote provinces that held the elections for the 13th National Assembly and local People’s Councils on May 21, one day ahead of the official polling day; all eligible voters showed up to vote.

Counting votes at a polling station in Hanoi on May 22 evening.

These remote provinces are mostly located in the mountainous, border, and island regions where transport is difficult.

In the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, over 17,400 voters from 12 communes, 10 border guard stations and three economic establishments in the districts of Kon Plong, Sa Thay, Tu Mo Rong and Dak Glei cast their ballots on the Election Day.

According to the provincial Election Committee, by late afternoon, all eligible votes in the province had cast their votes.

In the other Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, all voters from border guard units stationed in Ea Sup and Buon Don districts showed up at the polls by 10 am.

By 10:30 am on the day, all of the 1,108 voters in the island district of Bach Long Vy, in the northern port city of Hai Phong had also cast their ballots.

The Vietnam – Russia oil and gas joint venture Vietsovpetro organized early elections for 93 voters who are officials, engineers and workers working on the central technology platform and nearby drilling rigs at the Bach Ho (White Tiger) oilfield off the central province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

Early elections were also held in the mountainous districts of An Lao, Vinh Thanh and Van Cang in the central province of Binh Dinh. All eligible voters, around 2,200 in all, had completed their voting by 12:45 pm the same day.

Meanwhile, military officers, soldiers and policemen in several localities in Can Tho City and Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta also cast their ballots on May 21, in order to have time to focus on protecting the official elections on May 22.

PV