A man waiting to go to court for trial is proud of holding a ballot on the general election day of Vietnam.

H.C.M, who wished to remain anonymous, felt excited as he is in custody but still had the right to vote for worthy candidates for the country’s general election, together with nearly 500 other people at the Hanoi Drug Rehab Treatment Center No. 2 in Yen Bai commune, Ba Vi district.

500 people under custody cast their ballots at the Hanoi Drug Rehab Treatment Center No. 2. Photos: The Hanoi Times

He told The Hanoi Times that he wants the elected delegates to raise the people’s aspirations to the leaders at all levels, contributing to map out suitable policies for the socio-economic development of the locality.

According to Vietnam’s Law on Enforcement of Custody and Temporary Detention, people held in custody or temporary detention can exercise their voting rights and the right to vote in referenda.

With thoughtful, careful and democratic preparation for the detainees in accordance with the law, officers of the Hanoi Drug Rehab Treatment Center No. 2 made their best efforts to ensure that all the voters could exercise their rights as citizens and wisely choose talented and virtuous candidates.

Thirty kilometers from Ba Vi district’s Yen Bai commune, voter Dinh Thi Chinh, a 60-year-old woman of the Muong ethnic group living in Vip village, felt it was a festive day as she was going to the polling place - together with many others across the country - to cast her ballot on the early morning of May 23.

Muong women are going to the polling place on the early morning of May 23.

The village’s cultural house had for the first time hosted a polling place from which election activities were broadcast live. Chinh helped with the preparation work for the big event.

“It made my day become special,” Chinh told The Hanoi Times.

“I am proud of my village being broadcast live on the national television channel. It proves that the city’s leaders care for our commune and village, which is home to many ethnic minority people,” Chinh said. 

In the past few years, Minh Quang commune has changed a lot compared to the past, she said. “The life of the people here has been greatly improved thanks to efforts of the Party, the Government and the State,” Chinh said. 

“Holding the ballot, we feel very honored that our action will contribute to choosing talented people who would speed up local socio-economic development,” she added.

Dinh Thi Chinh, a 60-year-old woman of the Muong ethnic group.

Ba Vi, a mountainous district of Hanoi, is home to numerous ethnic minority groups in seven communes. Joining the country’s general election day, the district provided local residents with short bios on the candidates and guided them on measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the event. 

It was estimated that on May 25 more than 14,000 voters in the locality went to 237 polling stations to cast their ballots. The district’s voter turnover reached nearly 100%.

Dao Hong Thai, Vice Chairman of the Thuong Tin district’s To Hieu commune, told The Hanoi Times that local authorities have ensured safety for nearly 9,000 voters casting ballots.

“Among the voters, nearly 30 people, who are under quarantine due to their close contact with Covid-19 patients, have been provided with ballots boxes, which were directly delivered to them,” he said. 

Hoang Van Chuyen, a Tay ethnic minority man, says the selected people will ensure the stable development of Vietnam.

Seeing the preparation work for the election in his locality, voter Hoang Van Chuyen, a Tay ethnic minority man living in Lien Trung commune, Dan Phuong district, felt safe amid the Covid-19 outbreak when going to the polling station. 

“A voter card comes with a medical declaration form, the health of everyone who goes to the polls is supervised by the authorities,” he told The Hanoi Times.

Chuyen, who consumes news related to the election on television and online newspapers every day, said he hoped: “The selected candidates will be close and pay more attention to people’s legitimate aspirations, especially in receiving letters and petitions, then thoroughly following up the settlement of the petitions.”

Hope for future

More than 5.4 million voters in the capital cast their ballots in the general election across nearly 5,000 constituencies in 30 districts.

“Each vote has its sacred value and meaning,” Dinh Tien Dung, Secretary of the City Party Committee cum Head of the City's Election Steering Committee, said in his message sent to local residents.

He said as the city is facing the fourth wave of Covid-19 which is spreading on a large and complicated scale, the preparation work for this special election in each locality was carried out carefully, from organizing an online meeting with voters, building scenarios to dealing with possible disease outbreak in different places, including for those under isolation. 

Nguyen Van Son, a patient of Viet-Duc Friendship Hospital, is placing the ballots in the mobile box.

On the day, local authorities made their best efforts to ensure that every citizen in every corner of the city could carry out their right to elect worthy candidates for the general election.

The strength and belief of the nation are embodied in every ballot with the expectation to turn Hanoi into a green, smart, and modern city by 2030 and a worthy living place by 2045.