Public's eye is on Vietnam's assembly
An odour of public discontent hangs over the coming
session of Vietnam's national assembly, the nation's
highest legislative body. According to a high-ranking
official at the assembly, which is slated to convene on
July 19, "more than 90" legislators among the
498-member parliament were targets of public
complaints registered in the months leading up to their
election on May 19.
The gripes centred on suspicions
of corruption --including ill-gotten real estate--abuse of
power and misrepresentation of qualifications. While
such allegations prompted three candidates to be
disqualified after the final roster was announced, in most
cases the candidates remained on the ballot after state
investigators concluded that the complaints lacked
sufficient evidence. Meanwhile, the assembly's political
composition has also raised questions.
Prior to the
election, Vietnam's Communist Party
Secretary-General Nong Duc Manh aired his hope that
more nonparty members would become legislators and
thus reflect a wider range of views. Instead, the number
of nonparty legislators shrank from 68 to 51.
The Far Eastern Economic Review - July 04, 2002.
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