of the 864 parliamentary candidates in Sunday’s election are Communist Party members, while 7.5 percent are independents, according to the national election council, down from 8.5 percent in 2021. The five-yearly elections in the tightly controlled one-party state will see more than 73 million voters elect 500 members of the National Assembly and representatives for local councils. The Communist Party, which has ruled the Southeast Asian nation of 100 million people unopposed for decades, holds 97 percent of the parliamentary seats.

Voters expressed hope their representatives would continue modernizing Vietnam, whose booming economy is undergoing major reforms introduced by leader To Lam. Red-and-yellow banners fluttered from lampposts and traffic lights in the capital, Hanoi, where well-dressed senior citizens were some of the first voters. “I do expect top leaders after this election will make major changes to make our country better,” Nguyen Thi Kim, 73, told the AFP news agency at a polling station set up in a community room of a high-rise residential block in Hanoi. But in a country where major policies and projects are decided by senior cadres, many citizens feel lukewarm about elections. “I don’t think who wins will have any impact on my life,” said a woman in Hanoi, who gave her name as Huyen. Most polling stations closed at 7pm (12:00 GMT), with results expected on March 23. The opening plenary session of the National Assembly is scheduled for early April, when ⁠lawmakers are expected to approve the state’s top leaders previously nominated by the party, including the president and the prime minister. The party confirmed Lam as its general secretary, Vietnam’s most powerful position, during ⁠its five yearly congress in January, when it also selected the 19 members of ⁠the Politburo, its top decision-making body. After voting on Sunday morning in Hanoi, Lam said on live television that the election aimed “to choose the most prestigious people to continue leading the country to more development”. First-time voter Nguyen Kim Chi, 18, said that she cast her ballot in the capital for “all the young” candidates. “I know top positions are already set,” she added, “but I still hope my vote counts.” (Al Jazeera/AFP)