New parliament focuses on personnel election in first plenary

The first plenary session of the 14th National Assembly opened in Hanoi on July 20 with the selection of senior parliament and government posts high on the agenda.

The assembly will also spend a significant amount of time discussing socio-economic reports and deciding on other important issues.

In her opening speech, National Assembly Chair Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan stated that the general elections on May 22 took place in line with the law and in a democratic manner with a voter turnout of more than 99%.

The 14th parliament comprises 494 deputies, of which 113 or 26.8% are women. The number of deputies who are not Party members is 21, equivalent to 4.2% of total deputies.

The first plenary session of the 14th National Assembly

The preliminary results showed that 496 deputies were elected but two, Trinh Xuan Thanh, representing Hau Giang, and Nguyen Thi Nguyet Huong, representing Hanoi, were disqualified prior to the opening of the first session.

The National Assembly speaker said that the new parliament was faced with challenging tasks, requiring each deputy to make the greatest efforts to fulfil their duties.

As part of its agenda, the 14th National Assembly will elect senior posts including National Assembly chair, State president and prime minister as well as approving the appointment of new government ministers.

The parliament will also discuss the socio-economic situation in the first six months of 2016, outline measures to meet the targets in the remainder of the year, approve its law-making agenda and supervision programme in 2017.

Speaker Ngan urged deputies to uphold their sense of responsibility and actively participate in discussions to ensure the success of the first plenary session.

Also at the opening session, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong congratulated the success of the National Assembly and People’s Council elections and thanked relevant organisations for making the elections a success.

Reporting to the National Assembly, President of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front Nguyen Thien Nhan conveyed the voters’ outcry over China’s aggressive actions in the East Sea and their wish that the government would take bold measures to ensure national sovereignty.

The voters also voiced their concerns over serious incidents of environmental damage, especially Formosa Ha Tinh’s discharge of toxic waste which caused the mass fish deaths in four central provinces, according to the front leader.

He added that the voters asked the central and local governments to continue taking action to deal with the consequences, protect the environment, and strictly oversee Formosa while demanding those who violated regulations on investment and environmental protection be held responsible.

(Source: NDO)