Celebratory atmosphere marks elections

HA NOI — More than 50 million voters nationwide went to the polls yesterday to elect deputies for the 12th National Assembly.
The electorate voted in 182 constituencies around the country to choose 500 deputies from a total of 875 candidates on the ballot.
With the election regarded as a national festival, voting took in an ebullient atmosphere.
Voter turnout was 99 per cent, according to initial statistics from 58 cities and provinces nationwide released by the Election Committee yesterday
Vinh Long Province reported 100 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, followed by HCM City at 99.86 per cent and Ha Noi at 99.76 per cent.
There were no results from the six remaining provinces due to heavy rains which affected ballot collection figures.
The poll took place safely and successfully, said the committee.
Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh kicked off the voting at 7am yesterday, becoming the first voter to cast a ballot in constituency No 1 in Quan Thanh Ward of Ha Noi’s Ba Dinh District.
Emerging from the voting booth, Manh said, "The election takes place at a time when the Party, army and people are making great efforts to realise the socio-economic development goals of the 10th Party Congress resolution."
He added that "the 12th National Assembly will have an important role in promoting the great national unity, building the country’s strength and hastening the process of renewal to bring Viet Nam out of the status of an underdeveloped nation by 2010 and make Viet Nam a modern, industrialised nation by 2020."
The next National Assembly, Manh said, would have the responsibility to perfect the socialist rule of law of the people, by the people and for people under the motto, "wealthy people, strong nation, and an equitable, democratic and civilised society."
At a polling station in Ward 9 of HCM City’s District 3 early yesterday, President Nguyen Minh Triet led the balloting, telling other voters to lucidly choose the right candidates to become National Assembly deputies.
Triet stressed the important role deputies would play in the 12th National Assembly and expressed his hope that those elected would fulfill their promises to people.
The 26 deputies to be elected to represent HCM City, he said, should devote themselves to the cause of the nation and make contributions to socio-economic development of the city in particular and the country in general.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his staff yesterday cast their ballots in the northern port city of Hai Phong, while National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong joined with local voters to cast his ballot early yesterday in the Hai Ba Trung District of Ha Noi. He later visited other polling stations around the city to observe the voting and talk to citizens.
As the head of both the legislative body and the Election Commission, Trong said he desired the next National Assembly to continue to reform to promote democracy and more practical and effective operations.
Vietnam News Agency reporters observed that the people of Ha Noi were eager to vote and saw the election as an important event for the nation.
At one polling station, voter Dinh Thu Hang, 18, a student of Ha Noi University of Technology said emotionally, "I was born in 1989. This is my first time I am honoured to exercise my citizenship. I am very excited, and I hope the National Assembly deputies pay more attention to matters of education and tuition fees."
The solemn election atmosphere made a difference in HCM City, where even the city’s notoriously hectic traffic seemed more orderly. According to the municipal election commission, the city has more than 4.2 million voters who cast ballots at 3,074 polling stations.
In the central city of Da Nang, many polling stations opened even earlier, at 6am. According to the local election officials, 378 ethnic minority residents of Ta Lang and Gian Bi hamlets in Hoa Bac Commune were the first persons to vote in the city.