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| Voters have their temperatures checked and line up to keep their distance at a polling station.(Photo: VNA) |
Elections campaigns by 866 candidates for the election of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and nearly 449,000 others for the election of People’s Councils at all levels in 2021-2026 tenure have been completed in accordance with the law and in a safely manner despite the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By law, election campaigns must complete 24 hours before the voting starts. Under Article 65 of the Law on Election of Deputies to the NA and People’s Councils, the candidates can campaign through direct meetings with voters in their electorates or via the mass media to report their own action plans and discuss issues of concern.
But this time, as the country is coping with COVID-19 outbreaks, under the directions of the National Election Council and the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, conferences with voters were held flexibly and creatively to both meet COVID-19 prevention and control requirements and comply with the law.
Accordingly, localities in normal status or applying social distancing measure, meetings with voters were held both online and offline. Meanwhile, in areas under restriction or lockdown, election campaigns using mass media were encouraged, with candidates' action plans and biographies made public via radio or television broadcasting, on printed or electronic newspapers, news websites of agencies in charge of election work, or sent to residential areas, households and voters.
For the first time in the history of elections in Vietnam, meetings with voters were held in the form of videoconference.
Among over 200 conferences with voters in Ho Chi Minh City, a dozen were held online. An online conference in District 7 alone drew over 1,300 voters from 12 areas, during which they directly conveyed their aspirations to the candidates.
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| Preparations for the election day at a dormitory of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (Photo: VNA) |
Many localities also adopted such innovative ways as publicising information and action plans by candidates on websites and fanpages on the social media, making it easier for voters to have an overall view of candidates and make comparison with those in other electorates.
Vice Chairman of the Da Nang municipal People’s Council and permanent member of the municipal Election Council Le Minh Trung said the city has used digital platforms for election campaigns, which proved highly efficient.
A candidate for the election of deputies to the local People's Council in the 2021-2026 tenure, Phan Thanh Yen, a deputy of the People's Council of Yen Binh district, the northern mountainous province Yen Bai, in the past tenure, said she felt greater pressure than her previous campaign. She said during this re-election, she must renew her action plan with breakthrough points that meets voters’ expectation, especially by local women.
Speaking at a conference in Hanoi, Lieut. Gen Nguyen Quoc Thuoc, a former NA deputy, said candidates must seriously follow their action plans so as to deserve their role as the true representatives of the people. Every of their actions must aim for the legitimate interests of the people and the nation, consistently fight negative and corruption behaviors and those that violate interests of the people and the country, he said.
With determination of the entire political system at all levels in localities and support of voters nationwide, election campaigns both online or offline were held successfully, consolidating the trust of people from walks of life, and enabling them to look forward to the national election day on May 23.
