Elections in the

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

are held under a one-party political system led by the

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North Vietnam in 1954 and then all of Vietnam after the col ...

(CPV).

Direct elections Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...

occurred at both the

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

and national levels to elect members of the People's Councils and the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, with all candidate nominations pre-approved by the CPV-led

Vietnamese Fatherland Front The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF, alternatively Vietnamese Fatherland Front; ) is constitutionally an integral component in the political structure of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and an umbrella group of mass movements and political coa ...

. Elections serve the purposes of information acquisition and cooptation rather than popularity contest but still remain of significance to the political life and legitimacy of the Vietnamese party-state.

General

The

President of Vietnam The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam () is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam from its delegates. Since Vietnam is a one-party state, candidates for the post are nominated by the Central Commit ...

(''Chủ tịch nước'') is elected by the

. The

Prime Minister of Vietnam The prime minister of Vietnam () is the head of government of Vietnam who presides over the meetings of the Government (formerly the Council of Ministers). The prime minister directs the work of government members, and may propose deputy prime ...

(''Thủ tướng'') and Chief Justice (''Chánh án Tối cao'') of Vietnam are appointed by the President and approved by the National Assembly. The ministers are then appointed by the Prime Minister and also approved by the National Assembly. In the May 20th 2007 election, the

, consisting of the

, participated alongside affiliated groups and organisations; The 875 candidates for 500 seats included 150 who are not Communist Party members, but have party approval to run. Thirty candidates were allowed to enter on their own, their nominations approved by colleagues and neighbours. In March 2023, the National Assembly elected Võ Văn Thưởng as the country's president, which is a mostly ceremonial role.

Electoral system

The deputies of the National Assembly are elected using a block voting system from multi-member electoral units. The National Election Council is the authority which puts rules and guidelines into effect, as well as overseeing general elections in the country. The nomination process is controlled by the

Vietnam Fatherland Front The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF, alternatively Vietnamese Fatherland Front; ) is constitutionally an integral component in the political structure of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and an umbrella group of mass movements and political coa ...

, who holds consultative conferences to narrow down a field of candidates for election. The selection process takes into account factors such as proportional representation from the major regions of the country, gender balance, and the inclusion of ethnic minorities as well as representation of mass organizations. Generally, 90% of seats are directly reserved for the Communist Party of Vietnam, with the remaining 10% reserved for non-party members approved by the Fatherland Front.

Local election

The people's Council (''Hội đồng Nhân dân'') is the local legislature of provinces and municipalities of Vietnam. The people's councils represent the local authority of the state and are the top supervisory bodies at each level. They do not govern directly but instead elect and oversee people's committees that act as executive bodies and carry out local administrative duties; council members are elected via a direct system for a five-year term. The number of representatives depends on the population of that province or municipality. One councilor is elected chairman. The People's Council elects the People's Committee (''Ủy ban Nhân dân'',) the

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

. The People's Committee consists of a Chairman and a number of commissioners. The Judge of the People's Court (''Tòa án Nhân dân'') of each province or municipality is appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam.

Latest elections

Legislative election

References