National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn (centre) inspects the preparations for the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026–31 term in Ninh Kiều Ward, Cần Thơ City on February 1. — VNA/VNS Photo

CẦN THƠ — National Assembly (NA) Chairman and Chairman of the National Election Council (NEC) Trần Thanh Mẫn, together with a supervisory and inspection delegation on the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026–31 term, held a working session with the Election Committee of the southern city of Cần Thơ on Sunday.

After hearing the report on the implementation and progress of election preparations, the NA Chair highly appreciated the progress made by the city’s leadership and the thorough preparation of dossiers and documents.

He commended Cần Thơ's election leadership and direction for several notable highlights, including strict compliance with Politburo Directive No. 46 on election leadership, the comprehensive preparation of regulatory documents, and, in particular, the application of information technology in directing election affairs – an outstanding feature compared with some other localities.

He urged the city to pay special attention to the second and third rounds of consultations, to select a list of truly outstanding and deserving candidates for voters to choose to represent them in the NA and People’s Councils at all levels.

As the upcoming consultation conferences will coincide with the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, the top legislator suggested that the Việt Nam Fatherland Front committees at all levels proactively arrange appropriate schedules, including holding the conferences earlier before Tết if necessary, while ensuring full compliance with regulations. He also called on the NA Office, the NEC, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Security to continue close coordination, particularly in ensuring security and public order.

In addition, he stressed that training activities should be organised systematically and practically, with hands-on guidance, especially for young and newly appointed officials. Task assignments must be clear in terms of responsibilities and accountability, with regular updates and reporting.

Chairman Mẫn emphasised the need to step up communication efforts before, during and after the election, and to enhance the use of artificial intelligence in election-related communications – particularly for bilingual translation to serve ethnic minority communities such as the Khmer, Chăm, and Hoa.

Cần Thơ should continue to ensure political security and social order, avoid complacency, and prepare contingency plans to promptly handle emerging situations such as fires, explosions or disease outbreaks.

The NA Chair requested that the city mobilise the entire political system to participate in election work, identifying it as a central task for the first quarter of 2026. Alongside election preparations, the city should focus on socio-economic development, care for disadvantaged people during Tết in line with directives of the Party Secretariat, and seriously and effectively implement the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress.

Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Council and Permanent Deputy Chairman of the Cần Thơ Election Committee Ma Thị Tươi said the city has identified the election as a key task of the entire Party organisation and political system. Accordingly, the dissemination and election preparations across agencies, organisations and localities have been carried out seriously and promptly. Direction, inspection and professional guidance on election work have been conducted in a focused, coordinated, unified and effective manner, in full compliance with the law.

Close and effective coordination among sectors, levels and localities, especially Việt Nam Fatherland Front committees at all levels and their member organisations has helped fulfil assigned roles and responsibilities, particularly in organising consultation conferences and preparing for voter opinion meetings at places of residence.

Election-related bodies and officials from the city down to ward and commune levels have worked intensively, including on Saturdays and Sundays, to ensure that all election preparation tasks are carried out continuously, on schedule and in accordance with statutory timelines.

After the first round of consultations, the total number of National Assembly deputies to be elected in Cần Thơ is 18, including eight introduced by central agencies and ten by the locality.

The total number of city-level People’s Council deputies to be elected is 85, with 150 candidates introduced by State agencies, organisations and units.

At the commune level, 4,356 candidates have been allocated for introduction, compared with 2,212 deputies expected to be elected.

So far, 25 candidate dossiers for NA deputies from 16 agencies and organisations have been sent in for 18 seats –equivalent to 1.38 times the number of deputies to be elected locally (excluding self-nominated candidates). — VNS