Nuns view candidate lists at Polling Station No. 1 in Hoàn Kiếm Ward, Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — A total of 71,392,498 out of 76,609,388 voters nationwide had cast their ballots as of 4pm on Sunday, representing a turnout of 93.19 per cent, member of the National Election Council and National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Thanh told reporters at the Election Press Centre in Hà Nội.

Thanh reported that five out of 34 provinces and cities recorded turnout rates close to 100 per cent, led by Tuyên Quang at 99.86 per cent, Lào Cai 99.81 per cent, Lạng Sơn 99.3 per cent, Điện Biên 99.23 per cent and Lai Châu 99.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, 18 localities posted turnout above 95 per cent, including Đà Nẵng (98.71 per cent), Hà Tĩnh (98.7 per cent), Cao Bằng (98.22 per cent), Thái Nguyên (98.17 per cent), Quảng Ninh (98.08 per cent), Sơn La (97.98 per cent), Huế (97.86 per cent), Vĩnh Long (97.77 per cent), Cà Mau (97.76 per cent), Đắk Lắk (97.44 per cent), Quảng Trị (97.38 per cent), Cần Thơ (97.27 per cent), Nghệ An (96.92 per cent), Gia Lai (96.42 per cent), Phú Thọ (96.27 per cent), Ninh Bình (95.14 per cent), Quảng Ngãi (96.14 per cent) and Thanh Hóa (95.72 per cent).

Nine cities and provinces registered turnout above 90 per cent, including Hải Phòng (94.88 per cent), Khánh Hòa (93.93 per cent), Đồng Tháp (93.92 per cent), Lâm Đồng (93.32 per cent), An Giang (92.61 per cent), Bắc Ninh (91.66 per cent), Đồng Nai (91.12 per cent), Hưng Yên (90.44 per cent), and Hà Nội (90.36 per cent).

Only two localities fell below 90 per cent turnout as of 4pm, with Tây Ninh at 89.95 per cent. HCM City, the country’s most populous electoral area, recorded 7,663,467 out of 9,569,117 registered voters by the same time, equivalent to 80.07 per cent.

For elderly voters, those with disabilities or those who are ill and unable to travel to polling stations, mobile ballot boxes were deployed to enable them to exercise their voting rights.

As of 4pm on Sunday, the Reputa Cyber Space Centre under Viettel reported that 5,261 news articles and reports on the election had been published by domestic newspapers, magazines, information portals and online platforms.

The vote drew extensive coverage from international outlets, including China’s Xinhua, the UK’s Reuters, the US’s Bloomberg, Germany’s Deutsche Welle, Australia’s ABC News, Cuba’s Prensa Latina, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, the US’s Associated Press, France’s France 24 and Radio France Internationale, India’s The Hindu, Thailand’s Bangkok Post and several others.

In areas entitled to early voting, turnout reached 99.87 per cent by the close of the early voting period at 7pm on the designated day, with 37,008 out of 37,057 eligible voters participating. Many mountainous communes and special zones completed their voting ahead of the main Election Day, according to Vice Chairwoman Thanh. — VNA/VNS