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Backgrounder: Basic facts about Laos' National Assembly electionVIENTIANE, Apr 30, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Laos is holding a general election on Saturday to elect a new National Assembly (NA), Laos' legislative arm. During the one-day general election, 3.267 million eligible voters -- about 50 percent of the country's more than 6 million population -- will attend 6,324 polling stations in 17 constituencies, one for each of the nation's 16 provinces and Vientiane prefecture. Voting runs from 07:30 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. local time, and official results are expected to be available next week. The new assembly is the seventh since the founding of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on Dec. 2, 1975. The seventh assembly will have 132 members elected from 190 shortlisted candidates, who are nominated by the National Election Committee. The NA is Laos' parliamentary body, voting on key policy, constitutional and legal decisions as well as overseeing the performance of the government, the prosecutor's office and the people's court. As the legislative body, its rights and functions are to approve new and amended laws as well as put an end to inappropriate laws. Once formed, the NA is also responsible for approving a new State President and a new cabinet including the prime minister and all other ministers, which was usually preselected by the Executive Committee of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party after the recent National Congress in March. Each NA member represents 50,000 people, and every new assembly has more members to reflect population growth. The seventh National Assembly will have 17 more members compared to the previous assembly, elected in 2006. One aim of the new assembly is to increase the independence of the legislature from the executive by having fewer serving government staff on the NA. Of the 190 candidates nominated by the National Election Committee for the seventh NA, 47 are central government staff, 143 are local-level officials, and 45 are incumbents of the previous assembly, four are representatives of state-owned enterprise and five are from private enterprise. The legislature functions through a number of sector committees, including the permanent Standing Committee which leads the assembly, the Legal Committee, Economy and Finance Committee, Culture and Social Committee, Ethnic Committee, Security and National Defense Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee. Anyone over the age of 18 is eligible to vote in Laos, and a general election of NA members is held every five years. |