Remembering the election day of the 1st National Assembly, 1946

Before the National Assembly election day, all candidates and nominees appeared before the nation, directly met voters to answer questions. Nghe An delegates directly met the people and representatives of the provincial organizations at the Annam Cinema Theater, near the front gate of Vinh Market at that time.

I, Bui Danh Ba (85 years old this year, a cadre of the Nam Thanh Commune Pre-Uprising, former Secretary of the District Youth Salvation Executive Committee in 1946), was assigned by the Standing Committee to represent the youth of Nam Dan District to meet directly with the delegates.
That day, at exactly 8 pm, the people of Vinh City and representatives of organizations in the districts were crowded, having to stand together in the theater. In the sacred atmosphere, the candidates and the election delegates were clearly introduced about their background.
The number of delegates introduced by other organizations from the intellectual class includes:
1, Mr. Nguyen Thien Bien, teacher at Vinh High School.
2, Mr. Tran Quoc Nghe, teacher at Vinh High School.
The number of delegates introduced by the Party includes:
1. Mr. Tran Mai (Party member - Nghi Loc)
2. Mr. Le Viet Luong (Party member - Vinh City)
3. Mr. Ton Quang Phiet (Party member - Thanh Chuong)
4. Ms. Ton Thi Que (Party member - Thanh Chuong)...
In a solemn atmosphere, I was questioned first. I asked: "Dear comrades - At that moment, a friend of the same age from your district gently nudged me on the side and whispered: "Why are you calling me comrade?" I hastily replied: Dear gentlemen! Currently, our country is facing countless difficulties, the immediate problem is famine, and the financial system is empty, the banks are empty, there is not a single cent left, the silver and gold coins, issued by Chiang's soldiers, the Japanese silver coins and the Indochinese silver coins are circulating throughout the country. So, after you are elected, of course we must consolidate and rebuild the country's financial system, the first thing is to abolish the above types of silver, print new banknotes of our own. What do we use to guarantee the Vietnamese currency? And build the National Bank of Vietnam?"
The first person to answer was Mr. Nguyen Thien Bien. He was dressed quite elegantly, in a black suit and a red tie. He answered roughly as follows: First of all, we must encourage the patriotic bourgeoisie to pool capital, contribute shares or borrow foreign currency from other countries, etc. When there is no new currency, we must temporarily circulate the old currency, etc. There was no applause.
Next was Mr. Tran Quoc Nghe, who spoke more fluently and flexibly, with similar content to Mr. Bien. No applause.
As for Mr. Tran Mai, with his resolute face, sharp eyes, square face, yellow contractor's uniform, white shoes, and clear voice, he was truly an orator. The content of his answer was roughly that in the past, we were people who lost our country, when the country was lost, our home was also destroyed, we had nothing left! Now that we have seized power, our country is independent, our people are free and happy, we have everything! We have a rich and beautiful country. We have hard-working and creative people. We have a glorious Party and a great old Patriot!
The applause in the theater was endless. Next, he spread his hands and emphasized, here is the gold, there is nothing more precious than the creative labor of our people, with the hands of 25 million people. We will rearrange the country... Again, there was endless applause. Printing Vietnamese currency is not difficult, the Party and Uncle Ho will soon have currency to replace that rubbish, etc. The question and answer session lasted until 10 pm. It was truly a direct meeting between voters and the National Assembly that will never fade in my mind.
The election day of the first National Assembly (1946) in my hometown was extremely solemn and joyful. Although 99% of the people were illiterate, everyone still rushed to vote. This was a great festival for the whole country!

Bui Danh Ba (Pre-Uprising Cadre of Nam Thanh - Nam Dan)