Every Vietnamese citizen aged 18 and over, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, or social status, was entitled to exercise the right to vote. The National Assembly of Vietnam has gone through 80 years of formation and development with 15 terms of operation, always accompanying the nation through revolutionary stages, affirming itself as the agency representing the will and aspirations of the people.

To clearly see the historical value and immense significance of the first General Election, one must place it in the country’s situation more than 80 years ago. After the victory of the August 1945 Revolution winning national independence, our country faced countless difficulties and challenges both domestically and internationally. In that context, organizing the General Election both consolidated the young revolutionary government and was a strategy to establish the political-legal foundation of the new Vietnamese State.

Responding to President Hồ Chí Minh’s call for the people to go to the polls, on January 6, 1946, the General Election was conducted excitedly across the country. The entire Vietnamese people aged 18 and older, regardless of male or female, old or young, ethnicity, religion, from the lowlands to the highlands, from the North to the South, from rural to urban areas, went to vote to exercise their right to vote despite the sabotage of invasive and hostile forces. 90% of the total voters nationwide participated in the voting, electing the first National Assembly of the new Vietnam, creating a solid legal and political basis for the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland.

The outstanding value of the 1946 General Election was the affirmation of civil rights and the principle of equality. For the first time in history, every Vietnamese citizen, regardless of gender, wealth, poverty, class, religion, or educational level, was allowed to participate in the election. The 1946 General Election created the premise for subsequent elections of National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies, step-by-step perfecting the law on elections, from regulations on candidacy conditions and voting rights to the method of organizing and supervising elections...

The 1st National Assembly elected from the 1946 General Election successfully completed its task when passing the 1946 Constitution, clearly affirming that power belongs to the People. Since the milestone 80 years ago, the National Assembly of Vietnam has ceaselessly grown, accompanying the nation through resistance wars, national unification, and the cause of national renovation today. The National Assembly exercises constitutional and legislative rights, decides on important issues of the country, and exercises supreme supervision over the activities of the State, meeting the requirements of rapid and sustainable development in the new period.

Through 15 terms of operation and development of the National Assembly, the whole Điện Biên province has had 59 turns of deputies trusted to be elected to the National Assembly, with many people attached through multiple terms. The provincial National Assembly Delegation always promotes the spirit of solidarity and responsibility, comprehensively deploying tasks, clearly demonstrating the role of a bridge between voters and the National Assembly, the Government, and Central ministries and sectors.

Before each National Assembly session, the provincial National Assembly delegation organizes the collection of voter opinions on law projects and draft resolutions; recording opinions and recommendations of voters to send to competent authorities. After each session, the provincial National Assembly delegation conducts voter contacts, announces session results, informs viewpoints, and proposes adjustments to perfect legal policies.

Demonstrating a high sense of responsibility, in the 2021 - 2026 term, the provincial National Assembly delegation strengthened grasping the actual situation at the grassroots level, especially in highland areas and ethnic minority areas, thereby recommending and coordinating with local authorities to remove difficulties and improve people’s lives. Issues of concern to voters across the province such as implementing national target programs, ensuring social security, preventing drug crimes, preserving culture associated with tourism, administrative procedure reform, and organizational apparatus at the grassroots level... are all synthesized, questioned, and sent via question slips to the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities by the provincial National Assembly deputies.

This year, in the context that the whole country is looking towards the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and deputies to People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026 - 2031 term, promoting the tradition of the 80th anniversary of the first General Election carries even more practical significance. To ensure the election is truly a festival of the entire people, taking place democratically and safely, Điện Biên has established the provincial Election Commission; the whole province is divided into 11 election units to elect 50 deputies to the provincial People’s Council, term XVI (2026 - 2031). Regarding the election of National Assembly deputies, the whole province is divided into 3 election units to elect 7 deputies. 45/45 communes and wards throughout the province have established Election Steering Committees and Election Commissions, assigning specific tasks to each member and assisting section to deploy election work. Dissemination work, guiding people to participate in the election; introducing personnel; ensuring security and order, especially safety in cyberspace; building plans for each polling area; preparing facilities; and inspection and supervision work regarding the election... are being implemented seriously by the province.

Each ballot of the voter expresses responsibility for the development of the homeland, sending trust to the selected deputy. The tradition of 80 years of the first General Election has been and is continuing the democratic spirit, affirming that the National Assembly of Vietnam is the embodiment of the great national unity bloc, closely attached and responsible to voters, representing the will and aspirations of the people.