Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Law on Election of Deputies to the National Assembly No. 31/2001/QH10

LAW

Amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Election of National Assembly Deputies

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1992, amended and supplemented by Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10 dated December 25, 2001 of the National Assembly, tenth session;

This Law amends and supplements some articles of the Law on Election of National Assembly Deputies which was adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on April 15, 1997.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Election of National Assembly Deputies:

1- Point 1 of Article 3 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1- Loyalty to the Fatherland and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, striving to implement the renewal process, for the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country, making the people prosperous, the country strong, society equitable, democratic, and civilized;"

2- Clause 1 of Article 8 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1- The total number of National Assembly deputies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall not exceed five hundred persons."

3- Article 9 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 9

Based on the number of National Assembly deputies prescribed in Article 8 of this Law, based on the tasks and powers of the National Assembly, to ensure a reasonable representation ratio of various strata of the people in the National Assembly, after exchanging opinions with the Standing Committee of the Central Front of the United Vietnam Fatherland Front and representatives of political and social organizations, no later than ninety-five days before the election day, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly will propose about:

1- The structure and composition of National Assembly deputies;

2- The number of National Assembly deputies to be elected from political organizations, political-social organizations, social organizations, the people's armed forces, central and local state agencies."

4- Supplementing Article 10a as follows:

"Article 10a

The number of female National Assembly deputies shall be proposed by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly based on the proposal of the Central Executive Board of the Vietnam Women's Union, ensuring that women have an appropriate number of deputies."

5- The first paragraph of Article 14 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"No later than one hundred and fifteen days before the election day, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly establishes the Election Council consisting of fifteen to twenty-one members, including the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons, General Secretary, and members who are representatives of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and some relevant agencies and organizations."

6- The first paragraph of Article 15 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"No later than ninety-five days before the election day, the Standing People's Council of provinces and centrally governed cities, after reaching consensus with the People's Committee and the Standing Committee of the People's Front Committee at the same level, decides to establish the Election Committee consisting of seven to eleven members, including the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons, Secretary, and members who are representatives of the Standing People's Council, the People's Committee, the People's Front Committee at the same level, and some relevant agencies and organizations."

7- Article 23 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 23

1- Persons whose right to vote has been deprived according to a judgment or decision of the Court that has taken legal effect, persons currently serving a prison sentence, persons currently under arrest, and persons lacking civil capacity shall not be included in the voter list.

2- Persons falling under the cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, if they regain their voting rights, are released, or are confirmed by competent authorities to no longer lack civil capacity before the start of voting time, shall be added back to the voter list and issued a voter card.

3- Persons already listed in the voter list but lose their right to vote, must serve a prison sentence, are arrested, or lose civil capacity before the start of voting time, the People's Committee of communes, wards, or towns shall remove them from the voter list and reclaim their voter cards."

8- Clause 1 of Article 28 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1- Citizens running for National Assembly deputies (both those nominated and self-nominated candidates) must submit their candidacy dossier no later than sixty-five days before the election day.

The candidacy dossier includes:

a) A candidacy application letter;

b) A certified resume from the agency, organization, or unit where the candidate works, or from the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town where the candidate resides;

c) A brief biography and three color photographs measuring 4 cm x 6 cm."

9- Point 5 of Article 29 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"5- Persons currently undergoing administrative educational measures at the commune, ward, town level, at educational institutions, medical facilities, or under administrative control.

Those who are listed in the candidate list for National Assembly deputies and are indicted for criminal offenses, detained for committing crimes on the spot, or lose civil capacity before the start of the election shall have their names removed from the list of candidates for National Assembly deputies by the Election Council."

10- The first and second paragraphs of Article 30 are amended and supplemented as follows:

"The first round of consultation meeting at the central level is organized by the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front no later than eighty-five days before the election day, with participants including the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, representatives of leadership bodies of member organizations of the Front.

The consultation meeting agrees on the structure, composition, and number of personnel from agencies, organizations, and units at the central level to be elected as National Assembly deputies based on the proposal sent by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. Representatives of the Election Council, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and the Government are invited to attend this meeting."

11- The first and second paragraphs of Article 31 are amended and supplemented as follows:

"The first round of consultation meeting at the provincial and centrally governed city level is organized by the Standing Committee of the Provincial or City-level Vietnam Fatherland Front no later than eighty-five days before the election day, with participants including the Standing Committee of the Provincial or City-level Vietnam Fatherland Front, representatives of leadership bodies of member organizations of the Provincial or City-level Vietnam Fatherland Front, and representatives of the Standing Committee of the Provincial or City-level Vietnam Fatherland Front of districts, counties, towns, and cities within provinces.

The consultation meeting agrees on the structure, composition, and number of personnel from agencies, organizations, and units at the local level to be elected as National Assembly deputies based on the proposal sent by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. Representatives of the Election Committee, the Standing People's Council, and the People's Committee are invited to attend this meeting."

12- Article 32 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 32

Based on the results of the first round of consultation as stipulated in Articles 30 and 31 of this Law, no later than eighty days before the election date, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly shall adjust for the first time the structure, composition, and number of people of central and local agencies, organizations, and units to be elected as members of the National Assembly.

13- Article 33 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 33

On the basis of the first adjustment by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, based on the criteria for National Assembly deputies, agencies, organizations, and units at the central and local levels that have been allocated a number of deputies shall introduce candidates for National Assembly deputies.

14- The first and second paragraphs of Article 37 are amended and supplemented as follows:

"The second round of consultation meeting at the central level shall be organized by the Central Steering Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front no later than sixty days before the election date, with the meeting composition as prescribed in Article 30 of this Law.

The consultation meeting shall base itself on the criteria for National Assembly deputies, the structure, composition, and number of deputies to be elected from central agencies, organizations, and units which have been adjusted for the first time by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly to establish a preliminary list of candidates for National Assembly deputies and submit it for the opinion of voters in their place of residence."

15- The first and second paragraphs of Article 38 are amended and supplemented as follows:

"The second round of consultation meeting at the provincial and centrally-administered city level shall be organized by the Provincial or Centrally-Administered City Steering Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front no later than sixty days before the election date, with the meeting composition as prescribed in Article 31 of this Law.

The consultation meeting shall base itself on the criteria for National Assembly deputies, the structure, composition, and number of deputies to be elected from the agencies, organizations, and units