Hanoi (VNA) - Voters nationwide will choose 500 out of 868 candidates forthe 15th National Assembly on May 23.

Inaccordance with the Law on the Election of Deputies to the National Assembly andPeople’s Councils, the National Election Council (NEC) announced the officiallist of candidates during a press conference on April 27.

Throughouta five-step process with three rounds of close, democratic, cautious, and non-discriminatoryconsultations, the list of candidates for deputies to the 15th NAand all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure has been finalised.

Followingthe second consultation held by the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF)Central Committee, the NA Standing Committee on March 28 issued a resolution ona second revision of the structure, components, and number of nominees forseats in the 15th legislature.

Of the candidates, who will be elected in 184constituencies nationwide, 203 are nominated by central agencies and theremainders are introduced by localities. Nine of them are self-nominatedcandidates.

Female candidates account for 393 (45.28 percent) ofthe total, while ethnic minority people are 185 (12.31 percent). The number ofcandidates who are non-Party members is 74 (8.53 percent).
Speaking at a press conference to announce the list ofcandidates, Bui Van Cuong, NA Secretary General, Chairman of the NA Office andChief of the  NEC Office, said of thetotal, 205 candidates are deputies to the 14th legislature, and 224 candidatesare under 40 years old. The oldest candidate is 77 years old and the youngest,24.

Notably, agencies under the NA and the NA StandingCommittee and the NA Office have the largest number of candidates, 129; whilethe Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organisations have 28 candidates;the Government and its agencies, 15; armed forces, 12; and Party agencies, 11.

Among the 665 candidates nominated by provinces andcities, 348 are women (52.33 percent), 163 belong to ethnic minority groups(24.52 percent), and 70 are non-Party members (10.53 percent).

Accordingto Resolution No 1185/NQ-UBTVQH14, each centrally-run city and province must haveat least six deputies, of whom at least three deputies live and work there.

During the lobbyingcampaign, candidates will attend conferences with voters held by the standingboards of provincial, district, and communal VFF committees.

They wereadvised to map out and present their own action plans during the campaign./.