"It's not always good to elect enough representatives"

According to National Assembly delegate Le Nhu Tien - Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, it is the voters' choice and the important thing is to elect people with qualities, abilities, and dedication to the people.

The newly announced election results by the Election Committees at all levels show that the number of deputies to the 14th National Assembly as well as People's Councils at all levels is still insufficient and many places have conducted additional elections. In particular, at the commune-level People's Councils, many localities did not elect more than 2/3 of the required number of elected deputies, with some localities lacking more than 400 deputies (Thanh Hoa).

National Assembly Delegate Le Nhu Tien: "People give their votes to people they trust" (Photo: Ngoc Thanh)

Voters' choices must be respected.

PV: What does the election results that lack many People's Council delegates and the required number of National Assembly delegates indicate, sir?

Delegate Le Nhu Tien: First of all, the National Election Council and the National Assembly Standing Committee concluded that the recent election was a great success. 98.97% of voters nationwide voted, which is a victory. The success also lies in ensuring absolute safety, democracy, legality and economy.

However, the election process is still lacking a number of deputies to the 14th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2016-2021 term. We also have to gradually get used to the thinking and reality that it is not good to have a full election, but we must respect the voters' choice. If the full number of candidates are elected, that is very good, but because of the lack of elections, we should not judge the results as bad or unsuccessful.

In the past, there was a common notion that voting had to be 100% and that all representatives would be elected, but the general approach in the world now is not necessarily like that. Although there is a shortage of representatives, the National Assembly and People's Councils operate normally because that number is chosen by the people.

PV: The election results are also a good signal when voters are aware of their rights, have researched, considered and clearly expressed their opinions through the ballot?

Delegate Le Nhu Tien:The fact that the number of delegates is not enough to be elected, in my approach, is a careful choice of the voters, people feel that this number of delegates is worthy, and the other delegates are not worthy so they do not vote. Or there is another reason is the lack of information about the candidates so people may not know what this person is like so they are not confident enough to vote.

Usually, in the past, 99.99% of people voted and elected all the expected representatives. That is also good, but it can also show that people just vote to get enough. This is a choice, and when choosing, it does not mean that they can elect all, even if there is a surplus. You introduced the number like that, but I see that among them there are people who are not worthy, so they have not voted or did not vote.

We must also see that although the election is not complete in quantity but ensures quality, it still works well.

Voters only elect people they trust.

PV:Candidates for the People's Council of the commune are the people closest to the people and voters have the opportunity to regularly monitor and supervise, so the votes are "very straight"?

Delegate Le Nhu Tien:That's right, if the person closest to the people, closest to the people, has not yet fulfilled the duties of a representative, or has had problems before being elected, then it is clear that the people are not enthusiastic in voting for him. The people give their votes to the person they trust.

PV:There are places where both the leaders of the Party Committee and the People's Committee were not elected to the People's Council of the commune, sir?

Delegate Le Nhu Tien:There are many reasons. One reason is that in the past elections, people often paid more attention to their clan, relatives, and aunts and uncles, and lacked the objectivity to choose truly worthy people. But there is also the reason that the representative himself has not shown enough to make the people believe in his ability and qualities.

A representative who is not elected clearly has not shown his role, so the voters did not vote for him. There are even representatives who run for re-election in the same unit they ran for last time, but the voters still do not vote for them. We must review our responsibilities during our time as a representative to see if we have fulfilled our responsibilities and whether we are worthy of the people's trust.

Voters carefully research and consider candidates before voting (Photo: Ngoc Thanh)

PV:The recent results also show that we need to learn from experience in introducing candidates, don't you think?

Delegate Le Nhu Tien:That is a lesson for the next term, the selection of candidates for the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels needs to be more careful, more prudent and have a reasonable balance for people to choose.

This time the balance is better so the voters' choice is also better. As for "round voting", introducing as many people as they vote, it is easier to achieve the goal of electing all the people, but if there is a lack of voters' choice, it is undemocratic.

PV: The activities of People's Councils at all levels in the past have not been good and have been perfunctory. Through the careful selection of voters this time and the innovation in the law, do you believe that the effectiveness of the elected bodies will be improved?

Delegate Le Nhu Tien:I believe that the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels will fulfill their tasks well in the coming term. The previous term left behind many valuable legacies, which are experiences that the next term must inherit, promote, and improve, thereby improving the quality of the activities of elected bodies.

PV: Thank you!./.

According to VOV