The General Election will take place on April 30.  190 candidates will compete for the 132 available seats in the National Assembly (parliament).

The General Election is held every 5 years.

All Lao people who are at least 18 are able to vote and, according to the Vientiane Times, anyone who is over the age of 21 has the right to be elected as a member of the National Assembly.

My question: "Before the actual election, how are the candidates who will stand and compete in the election selected?"

Hopefully, someone can provide me with a factual answer.

I think only Communist party can votes. Not all Lao people. It would be nice if all Lao citizens can elected their own government. Not Vietnam puppet.
:o ::)

llX wrote on 17^th Mar, 2011 at 5:04am:

I think only Communist party can votes. Not all Lao people. It would be nice if all Lao citizens can elected their own government. Not Vietnam puppet. :o ::)

I was hoping for an informed answer...............oh, well.

All Lao people over the age of 18 can vote - they don't have to be Communist Party members.  My question was, "How are the candidates selected prior to the election?"  

In the last National Assembly, there were some members who were not members of the Communist Party and there was at least one non-Communist in the Cabinet (the Minister of Justice, I believe).  

My understanding is that it is not necessary to be a Party member to stand for election, but I'm not entirely sure how the candidates are pre-selected so they can run for election in the first place. My current understanding is that prospective candidates are put forward on the basis of their community involvement and local respect - irrespective of whether they are Party members or not.

Still hoping for an informed answer.

National Assembly (NA) is place that comprise of the representative of population and all people from various sectors of the country. Not all members of NA are the representative of farmers or worker but also employers. The selection is easy, I think travelling to USA to be an exile is much more difficult. There may be the selection committee in many the office where the potential candidate are working on such as ministries, provincial department, private sectors... Surely, qualification and experience and one of the most important factors is merit. Ask what you can do for Laos, ask not what Laos can do for you.

wrote on 17^th Mar, 2011 at 2:09am:

The General Election will take place on April 30.  190 candidates will compete for the 132 available seats in the National Assembly (parliament). The General Election is held every 5 years. All Lao people who are at least 18 are able to vote and, according to the Vientiane Times, anyone who is over the age of 21 has the right to be elected as a member of the National Assembly. My question: "Before the actual election, how are the candidates who will stand and compete in the election selected?" Hopefully, someone can provide me with a factual answer.

Hey there,

How come my girlfriend told that the election will be held on 4th of april?

:-?

How can all Lao 18 year of age can votes? When Laos is a single Communist Party, military dictatorship country. I believe Laos constitution allow freedom of religion and expression, but when peaceful university student protest for democracy in 1999 they were all jail till now. Christians are oppressed.
::) :-?

wrote on 17^th Mar, 2011 at 7:14am:

llX wrote on 17th Mar, 2011 at 5:04am: I think only Communist party can votes. Not all Lao people. It would be nice if all Lao citizens can elected their own government. Not Vietnam puppet. :o ::) I was hoping for an informed answer...............oh, well. All Lao people over the age of 18 can vote - they don't have to be Communist Party members.  My question was, "How are the candidates selected prior to the election?"   In the last National Assembly, there were some members who were not members of the Communist Party and there was at least one non-Communist in the Cabinet (the Minister of Justice, I believe).   My understanding is that it is not necessary to be a Party member to stand for election, but I'm not entirely sure how the candidates are pre-selected so they can run for election in the first place. My current understanding is that prospective candidates are put forward on the basis of their community involvement and local respect - irrespective of whether they are Party members or not. Still hoping for an informed answer.

llX wrote on 17^th Mar, 2011 at 3:31pm:

How can all Lao 18 year of age can votes? When Laos is a single Communist Party, military dictatorship country.

They register, then they go and choose the candidate they want to vote for.  Easy, as long as they are 18 or over.  

I can even vote myself due to my permanent residence status, and I certainly am not a member of the Communist Party.