Hanoi: 95 percent of parliamentary self-nominees are out of race

The third consultation round held by the Vietnam Fatherland Front on April 15. Photo: V.H.

The pool of 48 self-nominated NA candidates in Hanoi dwindled to two nominees left as the majority couldn’t get past all three consultation rounds held by the Vietnam Fatherland Front - an organization that is overseeing the NA candidate selection process.

According to Deputy Chair of Fatherland Front Le Thi Kim Oanh, there were 29 candidates who failed to get over the 50 percent mark in vote of confidence while 14 others withdrew among the 46 disqualified candidates after the second consultation round held on March 17.

As of the last round held this morning, there were five self-nominated candidates left to be considered by the Fatherland Front’s Standing Committee, two of which have been approved, including Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Nguyen Anh Tri and Chairman of an environment education and development center under Hanoi Union of Science and Technology Association Nguyen Huu Ninh.

Journalist Tran Dang Tuan, who is a well known social activist and former vice director of Vietnam National Television, was among the self-nominated candidates who didn’t qualify.

In an explaination as to why some candidates were disqualified through the voting process, Oanh said that those who were put to vote are eligible under the regulations, but the final outcome depends on membership distribution.

Based on the election schedule, the National Election Council will announce the list of all 500 candidates prior to April 27. From May 2 to 21, the candidates may run their campaigns at conferences and on social media. The election is set for May 22.