Part 1: The need to innovate voter outreach activities.
In recent times, the activities of National Assembly and People's Council representatives in engaging with constituents have undergone positive changes, contributing to connecting the will of voters with elected bodies and achieving many encouraging results. However, practice also reveals that many shortcomings still exist, including some constituent engagement sessions that are merely 형식적인 (formalistic), with the participation mainly of "electoral delegates" or "professional voters".
Current Affairs and Politics Reporting TeamNovember 19, 2024
In recent times, the voter outreach activities of National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels have undergone positive changes, contributing to connecting the will of voters with elected bodies and achieving many encouraging results. However, practice also shows that many shortcomings still exist, including some voter outreach sessions that are merely 형식적인 (formalistic), with the participation mainly of "electoral delegates" or "professional voters". This prevents the collection of opinions and reflections of the genuine aspirations of the majority of the people from achieving the expected effectiveness.
Engaging with constituents is one of the important duties of elected representatives as stipulated by law. Effectively engaging with constituents, promptly addressing their legitimate opinions, suggestions, aspirations, and concerns will contribute to maintaining political stability and social order in the locality, while simultaneously enhancing the role and position of elected representatives, thereby improving the effectiveness of the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels.
However, in reality, there are still issues regarding the form of voter outreach, the composition of voter outreach meetings, the content of these meetings, the quality, effectiveness, and substance of voter outreach activities. Specifically, voter outreach activities by National Assembly deputies and People's Council deputies at all levels mainly focus on the period before and after sessions. Deputies only engage with voters in their constituencies. These voter outreach meetings are not truly in-depth or widespread; the programs, times, and locations of voter outreach meetings are primarily held in commune-level People's Committee halls, and the participants mainly consist of representative voters or "professional voters."
The primary form of voter outreach is general contact within delegate groups, and has not expanded to include contact with voters in their places of residence or work, or on specific topics or target groups, especially at the commune level. Direct meetings and dialogues to understand voters' thoughts, aspirations, and concerns have not been widely undertaken by delegates, resulting in limited effectiveness of these outreach efforts. Many voter recommendations forwarded to relevant authorities have not been resolved definitively and remain unresolved for extended periods.
Following voter outreach meetings, the process of compiling and classifying voter opinions and suggestions has sometimes been slow and incomplete. The resolution of some voter suggestions submitted to People's Council sessions at all levels, which fall under the responsibility of some competent authorities, has not been thorough or complete. Some issues have been repeatedly raised by voters in numerous outreach meetings, but have yet to receive satisfactory answers from relevant agencies, thus failing to meet the expectations and satisfaction of the voters.
In Nghe An province, a review of 10 years (2012-2022) of implementing Joint Resolution No. 525/NQLT/UBTVQH13-ĐCTUBTWMTTQVN on the interaction between National Assembly deputies and voters (Joint Resolution) has indicated that: "The interaction between National Assembly deputies and voters is mainly carried out in the form of meetings before and after sessions, and there have not been many regular meetings with voters on specific topics, fields, or target groups, or meetings with voters outside the province."
This situation is not unique to Nghe An. In July 2023, the National Assembly Standing Committee reviewed and summarized 10 years of implementing Joint Resolution 525/NQLT/UBTVQH13. At this conference, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh shared: “Through practical experience participating in the National Assembly, participating in the activities of National Assembly delegations, and attending some thematic sessions with other delegations, it shows that contact with constituents is very important. However, as the report assesses, contact is mainly before and after sessions, while thematic contact, contact at the workplace, and contact at the residence are very rare. Thematic contact accounts for only 3%, and contact at the residence accounts for just over 1%.”
In reality, the way in which delegates organize meetings with voters varies greatly across localities. Some localities organize rotating delegations to meet with voters throughout the districts; some assign delegates to meet with voters at fixed locations; some organize meetings in groups of delegates, while others go collectively to each constituency. Furthermore, the way these meetings are conducted and managed is not standardized; in some places, the Fatherland Front at the district level presides over the meetings; in others, the Fatherland Front only opens the meetings, leaving the rest to the National Assembly delegation.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that the activities of National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels in engaging with constituents are legally mandated and their important role in connecting voters with state power organs is clearly recognized. However, in practice, there are still many shortcomings in terms of form, content, quality, and actual effectiveness of these constituent engagement activities. These limitations not only affect the fulfillment of legitimate aspirations of voters but also reduce public trust in the activities of elected representatives and state power organs.
"Electoral college," "professional voters," and "representative voters" are terms commonly used to refer to the familiar, well-known group of voters who regularly attend voter outreach meetings. Through direct observation and reporting on these meetings, it's easy to see that if the delegates don't include high-ranking officials or key leaders at various levels, they attract very little participation from the general public. The majority of voters attending are village secretaries, village heads, the elderly, retired officials, and local government employees… while the number of voters who genuinely wish to interact with their representatives is small.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, Chairwoman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Nam Son commune (Do Luong district), reflected: In reality, in the locality, the majority of participants in voter outreach sessions, from district-level People's Council representatives upwards, are officials, civil servants, and non-professional workers at the commune and hamlet levels; while the number of ordinary citizens is very small, only about 10%. The reason is that people of working age are busy with their jobs. On the other hand, through media and social networks, people have been able to promptly grasp the policies, guidelines, and rights of the people. Another reason is the decline in morality and violations of the law among officials, which reduces public trust; furthermore, many legitimate aspirations of voters are repeatedly proposed but not resolved, so they no longer want to attend or make further requests. For example, in Nam Son, the reality is that the power grid infrastructure is deteriorating despite numerous requests, but the resources of the power sector cannot meet the needs.
“In some areas, voter outreach has not attracted widespread participation from voters in hamlets, wards, and villages, particularly those of working age. The main voters are hamlet/ward/village officials, members of mass organizations, the elderly, and even ‘professional voters.’ Therefore, the recording of voters’ opinions and suggestions has not been comprehensive. Many voters have suggested issues directly related to people’s lives, falling under the jurisdiction of the commune and district levels, and have not contributed much to the content and agenda of the session, nor have they made suggestions that fall under the jurisdiction of central agencies,” the report of the Nghe An National Assembly delegation summarizing the joint resolution frankly pointed out the shortcomings and inadequacies.
When presenting the report on Joint Resolution No. 525/NQLT/UBTVQH13, the Head of the People's Petition Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Duong Thanh Binh, also assessed: “In some localities, there is still a situation where many meetings with voters by representatives have not truly attracted the broad participation of all strata of the people. Voters attending are still mainly the elderly, retired officials, district, commune, village, and hamlet officials, and those with complaints about policies and regulations. Therefore, the phenomenon of “electoral delegates,” “professional voters,” “representative voters,” and “voter representatives” is still prevalent…”.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee, Mr. Hoang Thanh Tung, analyzed: The report highlights that other forms of voter contact, such as contacting voters at their place of residence or workplace, or contacting voters based on target groups, specific topics, or fields, as well as contacting voters outside the constituency where the National Assembly representative ran for election, are still limited. The report accurately reflects the current situation.
According to the Constitution, the Law on the Organization of the National Assembly, and the Law on the Organization of Local Government, National Assembly deputies and People's Council deputies at all levels are "representatives of the will and aspirations of the people." The interaction between deputies and constituents is the clearest manifestation of their role as "representatives." Therefore, it is necessary to recognize that this interaction is not only an obligation but also a responsibility of deputies representing the will and aspirations of the people and local voters to the People's Council deputies, and of the entire nation to the National Assembly deputies.
Therefore, the lack of flexibility and the incomplete and infrequent implementation of prescribed forms of voter contact, such as before and after each session, thematic meetings, and meetings at the place of residence, have led to a situation where "full-time representatives" exist. This means that National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels only interact with voters in their constituencies, and the participants are mostly "electors," "professional voters," and "representative voters." The consequence is a decline in the meaning, role, and position of "representatives of the will and aspirations of the people," as stipulated in the Constitution and laws.
In recent years, the practice of engaging with constituents has seen many innovations in both content and form; however, these innovations have not yet reached their full potential, leading to a failure to fully promote the people's role in participating in government building through the "highest representative body of the people, the highest state power organ" (National Assembly) and the "local state power organs, representing the will, aspirations, and right to self-governance of the people" (People's Councils); thereby contributing to the best implementation of the operating mechanism of our country's political system, which is "Party leadership, State management, the Fatherland Front and political and social organizations as the core for the people to be masters".
To enhance the effectiveness and substance of voter outreach activities, groundbreaking solutions are needed to comprehensively innovate both content and form.
Ensuring that these interactions are not only opportunities for representatives to listen but also for citizens to truly participate in the policy-making and law-making process, reflecting their true thoughts and aspirations, is crucial. Only when elected representatives become a strong bridge between voters and the governing bodies will this activity truly fulfill its role, contributing to strengthening the people's trust in the political system and improving the quality of national governance. Working alongside voters is not only a responsibility but also a sacred mission for those who represent the will and aspirations of the people.
