VN news (July 20)

[Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>]

Do Muoi defends Vietnamese democratic elections 
Vietnam votes new parliament in carefully scripted party elections
Pakistani, Bangladeshi seamen stranded on ship detained in Vietnam
Vietnamese Have Little Hope Election will Change Leadership 
Vietnam's Muoi says ready to step down 
Vietnam reports high turnout in assembly elections 
Vietnam goes to the polls in upset-free elections 
Parliamentary Elections Held in Vietnam 

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Do Muoi defends Vietnamese democratic elections 

Hanoi, July 20 (AFP) - Communist Party General Secretary Do Muoi cast
the first ballot in his district in Vietnam's national elections Sunday,
defending voting as democratic and honest.

The 80-year-old party chief, who is not seeking reelection, said the
Communist Party monopoly on political power was consistent with democracy.

After casting his ballot under the watchful gaze of the bust of Ho Chi
Minh, the founding father of modern Vietnam, Muoi defended the country's
political system.

"In our democracy there is only one party but multiple organizations.
Most people take part in organizations of the Trade Union, Youth Union,
Student's Union, Writer's Union."

"There are more 500 associations in this country. Our people exercise
the mastery of our country," he added.

The party chief said that there was "no evidence of cheating so far.
Our candidates do not have to spend money to buy votes."

This week, the Lao Dong labour newspaper reported that authorities in
the Hai Ba Trung district, where Muoi lives, had instructed people on
how to vote.

More than 40 million people are eligible to vote to choose 450 national
assembly deputies from 663 candidates to serve five-year terms.

Roughly 80 percent of the candidates are members of the communist party,
and all but 11 were nominated by organizations controlled by the Communist
Party umbrella group, the Fatherland Front.

However all candidates must go through a rigorous screening process and
be vetted by Fatherland Front in order to run for election.

Muoi said however that party affiliation had no bearing on one's chances
of winning.

"We can select talented people to handle the mission regardless of whether
they are a party member or not," he said.

He also said he expected to see some of the 11 independent candidates
win seats to the national legislature.

Muoi, who was dressed in a cream coloured raw silk Mao-style suit, handled
press questions for more than 30 minutes at Hai Ba Trung district polling
station, a few blocks from his house in a fashionable district in central
Hanoi.

He appealed to the media to portray the elections in a positive way.

"I hope the press will make the world understand our democracy," he said.

The party has gone to great lengths to bill today's voting as a national
festival.

Hanoi's streets are ablaze with red banners and national flags which
all citizens with homes facing the street have been instructed to fly.

All the Sunday dailies carried photos of the Ho Chi Minh voting in previous
elections and editorials hailing the elections which "promote the right
of the mastery of the people."

Neighourhood loudspeakers began in the early morning exhorting people
to exercise their "right to vote". The national assembly office has predicted
close to 100 percent voter participation.

Though voting is not mandatory, one young college graduate told AFP why
voter turnout will be so high. "If you don't vote, the police will come
and knock on your door to ask why," he said.

Polls close at 7:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) and partial results are expected
within two days.

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Vietnam votes new parliament in carefully scripted party elections

Hanoi (dpa) - Millions of Vietnamese began heading to the polls Sunday
in carefully scripted national elections held by the ruling Communist
Party.

The voters were to elect 450 representatives to five-year terms in the
National Assembly from a total 666 candidates, all of whom had been previously
screened and approved by the party.

Nominally the highest body of government, the National Assembly remains
essentially a creature of the ruling Communist Party, which is gradually
allowing the legislative body to exercise increased constitutional authority.

The National Assembly meets annually for two one-month sessions.

A total of 106 non-party party candidates were taking part in this year's
elections and 11 candidates were self-nominated - both increases over
the elections in 1992.

All candidates had to be approved by the Vietnam Fatherland Front, an
umbrella party organization of representatives from the various mass
organizations, including the Women' Union, trade unions, youth and religious
organizations.

Non-party members were expected to make up about 20 per cent of delegates
for the new National Assembly - the country's tenth - up from less than
10 per cent in the last session.

Opening the assembly to a greater number of non-party members is part
of the party's attempt to improve the quality of delegates who have become
increasingly active in recent years in debating legislation and supervising
the government's performance.

"They should work to improve people's lives and develop the country
so that we can compete against other countries," said Nguyen Thi Cuc,
74, after casting her ballot Sunday morning.

The 40-year Party veteran and retired factory worker, who has voted in
every National Assembly election since the first one in January 1946,
said elections were becoming more democractic and that the quality of
candidates was improving.

Typically, voters had a choice of three out of five, or two out of three
candidates.

On a small square of purple paper voters cross out the names of those
candidates they did not want to vote for and stuffed the ballot in a
padlocked box under the ubiquitous white plaster bust of first president
Ho Chi Minh.

Crackly loudspeakers exhorted people to cast their mandatory ballots
beginning at 5 a.m. Broadcasts in the days leading up to the voting instructed
residents to hang out blood-red national flags for the occasion.

Vietnam-style elections are virtually devoid of campaigning and are low-key
events generating minimal public interest.

Interested voters had an opportunity to meet the candidates in subdued
"consultative meetings" organized by the Fatherland Front before election
day.

But even in these meetings there were no real debates among candidates
although there has been some chance for candidates to distinguish themselves
slightly through the party-controlled media.

Many people got their first exposure to candidates through the sketchy
biographies and pictures posted at voting stations.

Long regarded as a "hand-raising machine" the Nationa Assembly has
become slightly more assertive in recent years in exercising its law-making
and supervisory role, which was strengthened in the country's fourth
constitution adopted in 1992.

In the last session of the ninth assembly there were 10 hours of questions
for eight ministers, but assembly members complained that answers were
often much too general.

Even for scandal-ridden ministries the assembly has not yet held votes
of confidence to decide whether delinquent ministers should step down.

In a recent national survey only a "tiny percentage" of Vietnamese
felt the National Assembly was adequately fulfilling its supervisory
role of the government.

In its first session this autumn, the National Assembly will ratify a
new leadership lineup - including the country's three top positions of
prime minister, president and general-secretary of the Communist Party.

While ostensibly electing the new prime minister and president from their
own ranks, all three positions will have been elected in secret before
by the party's 169-member Central Comitttee.

Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet is expected to be replaced by his protege,
and current Deputy Prime Minister Pham Van Khai, while President Le Duch
Anh is expected to be succeeded by Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam.

Party chief Do Muoi is expected to be replaced by General Le Kha Phieu,
a political commissar in the People's Army of Vietnam.

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Pakistani, Bangladeshi seamen stranded on ship detained in Vietnam

Karachi (dpa) - Six Pakistani and six Bangladeshi seamen have been stranded
in Vietnam for almost two years after their vessel was impounded on the
orders of a Ho Chi Minh city court, it was reported Sunday.

Relatives of the stranded Pakistanis have appealed to Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif to seek their repatriation, saying the men have been confined
to their ship anchored at sea and are living off Vietnamese charity.

In a joint petition, the relatives said the ship owner, whose legal identity
is yet to be established, first stopped paying wages to the crew and
then tried to slip the ship out of Vietnamese waters without paying port
dues.

Vietnamese authorities were quick to stop the ship but were taking time
to auction it and settle the wage claims. The Pakistanis and Bangladeshis
have been told to expect payment of their wages only after the ship has
been autctioned, according to a formula the court has yet to decide,
the petition said.

Meanwhile, "the crew and officers cannot abandon the ship even if they
so wish and can arrange their passage. They have to serve as sentinels
in outer anchorage and to hand over the vessel to the new buyer whenever
one is found", maritime officials said.

The Pakistani seafarers were hired by the Karachi-based Terra Marine
Agencies whose owner, Saulat Majeed, is himself facing trial in a rice
shipment-related financial scandal investigated by the Nawaz Sharif government.

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Vietnamese Have Little Hope Election will Change Leadership 

Hanoi, July 20 (AP) -- Millions of Vietnamese went to the polls Sunday
to elect a National Assembly. The majority of those running for office,
though, are from the ruling Communist Party, which leaves voters little
hope the country's political landscape will change.

And while most of the candidates are Communists, voters will have the
ability to select workers, union representatives and educators over the
party stalwarts. A total of 450 seats of the legislative body in the
nationwide election, which is held every five years.

Muoi, an outgoing member of the Assembly, opted not to run for re-election,
saying he wanted to give the younger generation a chance. Last month,
Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and President Le Duc Anh also said that they
would not run for seats in the legislative body.

Since Friday, red banners bearing party slogans have been strung across
many streets in the capital, and red-and-gold Communist flags have been
hoisted outside of homes and offices.

State-run media have attempted to rouse interest and counteract skepticism
about one-party elections among segments of the public.

Voters in a downtown Hanoi district last week protested their local election
board after the board told the voters which names they should check on
their ballots, the state run Labor newspaper reported.

However, taped government announcements, played on loudspeakers in central
parts of Hanoi, urged voters to make their own choices Sunday.

"I think most people consider it a duty to vote, but they do not quite
believe in it," said Nguyen Thi Oanh, an office accountant. "So they
don't seem enthusiastic."

An survey conducted by the National Assembly found that 86% of 5,000
randomly picked voters across the country said they would vote for a
Communist Party member, an Assembly representative said.

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Vietnam's Muoi says ready to step down 

Hanoi, July 20 (Reuter) - Vietnam's Communist Party Secretary General
Do Muoi said on Sunday he was tired and had asked to step down.

The 80-year-old veteran revolutionary told reporters, during voting on
Sunday for an enlarged National Assembly, that he had devoted his life
to serving the party and people, but now wished to rest.

"I am now asking the party and people to allow me to rest, but they
have not yet allowed it," he said, adding: "I am trying my best to
be allowed."

Vietnam's leaders routinely answer questions about how long they might
serve in office by saying it is a matter for the people, and not themselves,
to decide.

However, Muoi's remarks differed in tone from those he made last year
during a Communist Party congress. On that occasion he replied robustly
to a question about his secret to good health by saying: "Getting married
late."

"I feel a bit weak now and I want to rest, but it depends on the assessment
of the people and the party," he said on Sunday. "My strength follows
the natural laws and becomes weaker and weaker as I get older."

Muoi is a member of Vietnam's leadership triumvirate, alongside President
Le Duc Anh, 76, and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, 74.

None of the three registered as candidates for this weekend's National
Assembly elections. According to the constitution that means a new president
and prime minister will have to be appointed when the legislature meets
in September.

Muoi is a member of Vietnam's leadership triumvirate, alongside President
Le Duc Anh 76, and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, 74.

None of the three registered as candidates for this weekend's National
Assembly elections. According to the constitution that means a new president
and prime minister will have to be appointed when the legislature meets
in September.

As Party leader Muoi is not bound by the same rule, but political analysts
say they expect him to follow suit within the next year.

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Vietnam reports high turnout in assembly elections 

By Adrian Edwards

Hanoi, July 20 (Reuter) - Vietnam announced success on Sunday in nationwide
polls for a new National Assembly, reporting turnout levels at 100 percent
in many areas hours before voting closed.

The official Vietnam News Agency said some districts had achieved 100
percent turnout shortly after 07.00 a.m. local time, meaning that many
polling stations could close hours ahead of time.

Election officials said full results were not expected to be known before
Wednesday. Local police in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City said the day
had passed without incident.

Sunday's polls were for an enlarged 450-seat parliament, an increase
of 55 seats from the current legislature. But as usual for an election
in Vietnam -- a communist state where only one party is permitted by
law -- little was being left to chance.

Hanoi residents woke to the sound of stirring music from the city-wide
megaphone network and messages instructing people on how to fulfil their
civic duties.

Outside the city's 1,540 polling stations, middle-aged women in traditional
silk dress encouraged passers-by to participate in the official atmosphere
of festivity.

All 663 candidates were officially approved. Most were members of the
ruling communist party, and 202 were women -- complying accurately with
state directives aimed at ensuring they occupy around 30 percent of parliamentary
seats.

Nonetheless, Communist Party chief, Do Muoi, told reporters at a morning
voting session that democracy was growing in Vietnam every day. He also
brushed aside local newspaper claims of official cheating in the constituency
where he voted.

"We have conducted so far nine assembly elections, and no cheating has
been noticed," he said, adding: "And the candidates do not have to
spend money to buy votes."

The total budget for the elections and campaigning was about $17,000,
amounting to a little over $25 per candidate.

National Assembly elections are held every five years in Vietnam, and
are touted as a mechanism aimed at allowing ordinary people a say in
the selection of grass-roots parliamentary representatives chosen by
the state.

The assembly meets twice each year, for a month, to discuss government
legislation and vote on nominees for cabinet and top state positions.

Traditionally, it has been viewed as compliant. But in an unusually direct
editorial on Sunday a Ho Chi Minh City news journal said changing times
in Vietnam required a more mature parliament, and one more in touch with
popular opinion.

"As it integrates into the global community, Vietnam cannot feel satisfied
with where it is now," the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

"The opinions (of National Assembly deputies) could be more powerful
if new ideas are expressed, and if these are a result of refined wisdom
and the initiatives of many people..."

One of the first tasks of the assembly, when it meets in September, will
be to vote on the appointment of a new president and prime minister.

Le Duc Anh, 76, and Vo Van Kiet, 74, did not stand for election and are
therefore constitutionally bound to step down.

Muoi, 80, the third member of Vietnam's leadership triumvirate, said
he too was tired and had asked to retire. But he sidestepped questions
about when this might be.

"I am now asking the party and people to allow me to rest, but they
have not yet allowed it," he said, adding: "I am trying my best to
be allowed."

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Vietnam goes to the polls in upset-free elections 

By Adrian Edwards

Hanoi, July 20 (Reuter) - Vietnam held elections on Sunday for an enlarged
450-seat National Assembly, but little was being left to chance as the
country's 40-million voters went to the polls.

Across Hanoi residents were woken to the sound of stirring music from
the city-wide megaphone network and messages instructing people on how
to fulfil their civic duties.

Outside the city's 1,540 polling stations, middle-aged women in traditional
silk dress encouraged passers-by to participate in the official atmosphere
of festivity.

Little was being left to chance in what amounted to elections for a parliament
with limited powers and no opposition.

All 663 candidates were officially approved. Most are members of the
ruling communist party, and 202 are women -- complying accurately with
state directives aimed at ensuring they occupy around 30 percent of parliamentary
seats.

Nonetheless, Vietnam's Communist Party chief, Do Muoi, told reporters
at an early morning voting session that democracy was growing in Vietnam
every day. He also brushed aside local newspaper claims of official cheating.

"We have conducted so far nine assembly elections, and no cheating has
been noticed," he said, adding: "And the candidates do not have to
spend money to buy votes."

The total budget for Sunday's nationwide elections and campaigning was
about $17,000, amounting to a little over $25 per candidate.

Vietnam's National Assembly elections are held every five years, and
are touted as a mechanism aimed at allowing ordinary people a say in
the selection of grass-roots parliamentary representatives chosen by
the state.

The assembly meets twice each year, for a month, to discuss government
legislation and vote on nominees for cabinet and top state positions.

It has traditionally been seen as compliant. But in an unusually direct
editorial on Sunday a Ho Chi Minh City news journal said changing times
in Vietnam required a more mature legislature, and one more in touch
with popular opinion.

"As it integrates into the global community, Vietnam cannot feel satisfied
with where it is now," the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

"The opinions (of National Assembly deputies) could be more powerful
if new ideas are expressed, and if these are a result of refined wisdom
and the initiatives of many people..."

The new assembly is scheduled to meet for the first time in September
when it will vote on the appointment of successors to President Le Duc
Anh, 76, and Prime Minister Do Muoi, 74, and approve a new cabinet.

Despite media warnings of the need for vigilance against "bad elements"
who might try to upset the elections, police in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi
Minh City said no incidents had been reported during morning voting.

Election officials said results were expected on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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Parliamentary Elections Held in Vietnam 

HANOI, July 20 (Itar-Tass) - Over 40 million voters are taking part in
parliamentary elections in Vietnam today.

According to Vietnamese laws, participation in the elections is not mandatory,
but traditionally the turnout in parliamentary elections is high.

A total of 663 candidates are contesting 450 parliamentary mandates.
President of Vietnam, 76-year-old Le Du'c Ahn, 74-year-old Prime Minister
Vo Van Kiyet and 80-year-old Secretary General of the Communist Party
of Vietnam Do Muoi have not been included in the list of candidates contesting
parliamentary seats, whereas in accordance with the Vietnamese constitution,
the president and prime minister shall be deputies of the National Assembly.

Thus, both Le Du'c Ahn and Vo Van Kiyet are to resign until September
20 since the newly elected parliament is to come into office no less
than two months after the elections.

The secretary-general of the Communist Party of Vietnam shall not mandatory
hold a parliamentary mandate to remain in office. However, Muoi is expected
to be re-elected at a national conference of the Communist Party to be
held until the end of this year.

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