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.

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


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.

Quote:


Hey there,

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

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


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.