Dong Thap (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has launched early, proactive and well-coordinated preparations for the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly (NA) and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026–2031 tenure, ensuring strict compliance with legal regulations and a high sense of responsibility, Standing Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Phan Van Thang has said.
In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Thang, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) committee of Dong Thap province and deputy head of the standing committee of the provincial Election Steering Committee, stated that the local authorities consider the election a major political event that directly affects the quality and effectiveness of elected bodies in the new term.
As early as October last year, the Party committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee, and the VFF committee at provincial and grassroots levels promptly established election steering committees for election and related bodies in accordance with regulations. Detailed plans were issued with clearly defined responsibilities, timelines and tasks for each agency and unit, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the process.
So far, preparations for the election in the locality have been implemented synchronously, following prescribed procedures and schedules. After the third round of consultative conferences, the standing board of the provincial VFF committee issued a plan guiding the organisation of meetings with voters and election campaigning in line with the law. This guidance has been applied consistently across all levels.
Under the statutory timeline, candidates for the 16th NA in Dong Thap began campaigning on February 27, while candidates for the provincial People’s Council started campaigning on February 28, he said.
As the two-tier local administration model is rolled out with several new features, the election must strictly comply with legal requirements and adapt swiftly to new administrative mechanisms across the expanded post-merger province, requiring proactive coordination and strong responsibility throughout the political system, Thang stated.
To ensure smooth implementation, the standing board of the provincial VFF committee has closely monitored developments and actively coordinated with Party committees, authorities and relevant agencies to provide timely guidance and address difficulties in practice, aiming to ensure that all stages of the election process are conducted uniformly, lawfully and on schedule, he said.
According to the official, key tasks for the VFF system at the commune and ward levels include facilitating election campaigning in line with regulations; ensuring voter meetings are democratic, open and transparent; strengthening communication, legal outreach, supervision and inspection throughout the election process; properly handling citizen reception, complaints and denunciations related to the election and candidates; and maintaining timely, accurate reporting in compliance with statutory requirements to support overall coordination and administration.
Regarding the candidate pool, Thang said Dong Thap has finalised a list of 30 candidates for the 16th NA, from which 18 deputies will be elected. For the provincial People’s Council, 142 candidates have been nominated to elect 85 deputies, while the commune level has 3,907 candidates to elect 2,332 deputies.
The number and structure of candidates meet legal requirements, ensuring real choice for voters and healthy competition. The candidate lists reflect broad representation across political organisations, state agencies, front and socio-political establishments, mass associations, the armed forces, religious groups, enterprises and other social sectors.
All candidates have been carefully screened against statutory criteria, with emphasis on political integrity, ethics, capacity and public credibility, towards ensuring that elected bodies truly represent the diverse will and aspirations of all segments of the people, he went on.
Thang stressed that the election preparations have been carried out comprehensively and in line with regulations, towards laying a solid foundation for a democratic, safe and successful election for the 2026–2031 term./.
