A major national festival

On March 15th, voters across the country enthusiastically and proudly participated in the election of representatives to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term. Election Day was truly a great national celebration.

Choosing trustworthy individuals to lead the country.

Early on the morning of March 15th, General Secretary To Lam arrived at polling station No. 2, Ba Dinh Ward, Hanoi City, to attend the opening ceremony of the election and cast his vote for representatives to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term. Also participating in the voting were Standing Committee member Tran Cam Tu; Head of the Central Organization Department Le Minh Hung; Head of the Central Internal Affairs Department Le Minh Tri; Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee Nguyen Duy Ngoc; Chief of the Central Party Office Pham Gia Tuc; along with other leaders and former leaders of the Party, State, and Hanoi City.

General Secretary To Lam and delegates and voters in the electoral district.

PHOTO: VNA

Elections are a great national event, directly demonstrating the people's freedom and right to self-governance, to choose individuals with sufficient prestige and trustworthiness to shoulder the common tasks of the country and localities, to develop the country, ensure sovereignty and territorial integrity, and protect the Fatherland for the long term.

General Secretary To Lam

Speaking to the press after casting his vote, General Secretary To Lam expressed his delight at exercising his right to vote in his place of residence and witnessing the large turnout of voters with enthusiastic spirits to participate in the election. The General Secretary shared that the election preparations had been very thorough and well-planned in all aspects, creating the most favorable conditions for voters to express their opinions through their ballots under any circumstances. "This is the exercise of direct democratic rights to choose those we trust and have confidence in to continue leading the country and local development," the General Secretary stated.

According to the General Secretary, the elections for the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term will be held after the successful conclusion of the 14th National Congress of the Party. All policies, guidelines, orientations, visions, and directions for national development have been clearly stated and have received strong support from the people, cadres, and Party members. The General Secretary affirmed that the election is a great national event, directly demonstrating the people's freedom and right to self-governance, to choose individuals with sufficient prestige and trustworthiness to shoulder the common tasks of the country and localities, to lead the country's development, ensure sovereignty and territorial integrity, and protect the Fatherland for the long term.

President Luong Cuong casts his vote in the election.

PHOTO: VNA

Earlier that morning, President Luong Cuong attended the opening ceremony of the election and cast his vote at polling station No. 26, Hoan Kiem Ward, Hanoi. Also present were Nguyen Trong Nghia, Head of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army, and other leaders of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army. Polling station No. 26 in Hoan Kiem Ward has 807 voters from several military agencies and units.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife cast their votes in the election.

PHOTO: VNA

At polling station No. 21, electoral unit No. 7, Tay Ho Ward, Hanoi City, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, along with voters including leaders of central and Hanoi city agencies, and other voters in the area, cast their ballots. Speaking with voters, the Prime Minister expressed his hope that they would exercise their right to self-governance and wisely choose worthy representatives to represent their will and aspirations in the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels. The Prime Minister requested the Tay Ho Ward Election Committee to create the best possible conditions for 100% of voters to exercise their rights and civic duties.

On the morning of the same day, at polling station No. 14 (electoral district No. 5, Hoc Mon commune, Ho Chi Minh City), the opening ceremony of the election was solemnly held. Attending the ceremony were the Chairman of the National Assembly and Chairman of the National Election Council, Tran Thanh Man; the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Tran Luu Quang... After the opening ceremony, Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man and the voters proceeded to the polling booths to exercise their rights and civic duties. Immediately after casting their votes, Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, Chairman of the National Election Council, inspected and encouraged the election service personnel at the Office of the National Election Council and the National Assembly Operations Center, and also visited and encouraged the reporters and editors working at the National Assembly Press Center.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man casts his vote.

Photo: Nhat Thinh

The Speaker of the National Assembly highly appreciated the preparation, organization, and operation of the election service system, especially the strong application of information technology in management, updating, and data transmission, which helped to transmit information quickly, accurately, and securely.

Speaking to the press, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man emphasized that participating in elections is a sacred right and responsibility of every citizen. "This election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly is especially significant as it marks the 80th anniversary of the first general election of the Vietnamese National Assembly. I am confident that voters nationwide will turn out in large numbers, choosing talented and virtuous individuals worthy of representing the will and aspirations of the people in the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels, contributing to ushering the country into a new era, an era of national progress," said National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

Discussing the significance of election day, Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Tran Luu Quang said that after many years of participating in the National Assembly and People's Councils, he has observed that elected bodies are increasingly innovating and operating more effectively and efficiently. "The National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels have undergone rapid innovation, operating more effectively, efficiently, and efficiently, and are a great learning ground for all those who have the opportunity to participate," Mr. Tran Luu Quang shared.

The Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee also stated that each vote not only reflects the rights and duties of citizens but also conveys the people's trust in their representatives.

Chairperson of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Bui Thi Minh Hoai and Chairperson of the Central Theoretical Council Nguyen Xuan Thang cast their votes in the election.

PHOTO: TUYEN PHAN

At polling station number 7, Xuan Dinh Ward, Hanoi City, the Chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Bui Thi Minh Hoai, arrived early to inspect the election preparations. Afterwards, Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hoai, along with Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Vice Chairwoman and Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Ha Thi Nga, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council Nguyen Xuan Thang, and other voters, cast their ballots for the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term.

Also in Hanoi, the State Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan and the Permanent Secretary of the Central Committee of the Youth Union and President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Student Association, Nguyen Minh Triet, cast their votes at polling station No. 8, Hai Ba Trung Ward. Permanent Secretary of the Central Committee of the Youth Union Nguyen Minh Triet stated: "I expect that my choice and that of the people will find truly outstanding representatives with sufficient capacity and qualities. They will be the most worthy representatives, carrying the responsibility of helping voters express their thoughts and aspirations. At the same time, these representatives will truthfully and promptly reflect the voices from the grassroots to the parliament..."

The election results are expected to be announced on March 22nd.

Speaking to the press on March 15th, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh, a member of the National Election Council, assessed the progress of this election as very positive. Many localities, despite achieving 100% voter turnout early, continued operations until the scheduled time and prepared supplementary ballot boxes to serve transient voters. For the elderly and infirm who were unable to reach polling stations, election committees brought supplementary ballot boxes to their locations to ensure citizens' right to vote.

Statistics also show that in areas with difficult transportation access such as Nghe An, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Lang Son, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, etc., the voter turnout rate was the highest in the country. This shows the enthusiastic spirit of the people towards "the nation's festival". "Many business families voluntarily closed their shops to dedicate time to election day, demonstrating a very cheerful and positive atmosphere," she said.

According to the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, compared to previous elections, the preparation time for this year's election was shortened by more than two months. However, the implementation process was still very systematic and rigorous, with no issues arising from localities being sent to the National Election Council for guidance on how to handle them.

To achieve these results, the application of digital transformation cannot be overlooked. For example, thanks to the creation of voter lists and cards linked to identification numbers, polling stations can easily monitor the ballot distribution process and cross-check the lists. As a result, election progress data is continuously updated, changing every 10-15 minutes. "We can track progress down to each polling unit, each village, each commune. Places that have achieved 100% voter turnout will show up in green on the electronic board. Sitting here, we can still see the nationwide atmosphere of joy for election day through the wonderfully changing images and numbers on the system," she said.

Digital transformation is also evident in the personnel selection process through consultation rounds, or by allowing candidates to submit applications electronically. If the traditional method of submitting paper applications were followed, given the limited time available, it would be very difficult.

Alongside this is the combination of in-person and online voter outreach, which helps candidates reach voters faster and more widely. According to regulations, each National Assembly candidate must have at least 12 voter outreach meetings. If each meeting has around 200 attendees, the total reach would only be slightly over 2,000 voters, a very small number compared to the millions of voters in a single electoral district. With this combined approach, candidates can connect with all communes, allowing many voters to learn about their action plan simultaneously.

Another important factor mentioned by the Vice Chairperson of the National Assembly was the strict implementation of security and order measures. Because the areas of wards and communes are now much larger than before, while the local forces are still limited, the provincial police and local military commands have assigned forces to the grassroots level. "Some communes have sent 20-30 soldiers from higher-level units to support their local counterparts," Ms. Thanh informed, adding that this demonstrates the close guidance of the subcommittee as well as the local Party committee and government in preparing for election day.

The Vice Chairperson of the National Assembly added that the election results are expected to be announced on March 22nd. "We will hold a public press conference with the people and the media about the results of the selection of National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels in preparation for the first National Assembly session in April," Ms. Thanh stated.

According to information from the Election Press Center, as of 8 PM on March 15th, the total number of voters nationwide who had cast their ballots was 76,043,527, reaching a turnout rate of 99.38%.

Lao Cai province was the first locality to complete the election, along with Hue City, being one of the 2 out of 34 localities to achieve a 100% voter turnout. Notably, Lao Cai province has 173 voters aged 100 and above. In the remaining localities, the voter turnout rate was mostly above 99%. No polling unit had a voter turnout rate below 50%.

A preliminary assessment of the election progress nationwide shows that most provinces in the northern mountainous region, despite their difficult terrain, have seen very active voter turnout, completing the process early with very high voter participation rates, such as: Lao Cai 100%, Lai Chau 99.97%, Tuyen Quang 99.96%, Dien Bien 99.91%, Lang Son and Thai Nguyen 99.82%,…

In addition, some large provinces and cities with a large number of voters (over 3 million voters), and frequent fluctuations in the number of voters, still have a high voter turnout rate, reaching over 99%; this shows the great efforts of the local election organizations.

By the time the election concluded, polling stations nationwide maintained a stable, serious, and orderly atmosphere, strictly adhering to election laws and regulations. Public opinion generally expressed trust, agreement, and support for the election.

Tuyen Phan

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngay-hoi-lon-cua-dat-nuoc-185260315230930749.htm